Top Stories Salt Lake City

A University of Utah professor died from injuries sustained when she fell out the emergency exit of a campus shuttle Thursday evening.

The 63-year-old, whose identity was not released, was standing on a westbound shuttle bus that was turning left from North Campus Drive onto Mario Capecchi Drive on campus about 8:30 p.m. when she somehow was thrown backward toward the emergency exit and fell out of the shuttle, said University Police Sgt. Mike McPharlin.

The research professor was transported to University Hospital for emergency surgery, but she later died from injuries, McPharlin said.

U. police are attempting to notify the family of the woman, who police said is from China. University officials have been notified of the professor’s death.

The bus has been impounded. McPharlin said either the university or OSHA will examine the bus to determine whether any malfunction occurred with the emergency exit door.

“We’re all a little depressed up here,” said Norman Chambers, assistant vice president for the University of Utah. He said there hasn’t been an accident like this in the 20 years that the U. has been operating shuttles on its campus.

“We think it’s tragic and we obviously want to make sure we get all the facts so we can get to the bottom of what transpired,” Chambers said. “Right now, we’re even afraid to guess what happened until everything is thoroughly investigated.”

He said all of the shuttles in the University of Utah’s fleet are regularly checked and given repairs when necessary. The shuttle involved in the incident was impounded immediately following the accident and is being secured, even so far as having the doors taped to make sure no one will have access to it until the police investigation is complete.

But as far as they can tell at this point, the woman’s death was an accident.

“The employee who was driving the vehicle was devastated by the whole thing,” Chambers said. “The indication is that he was just making a normal turn, but we’re making sure we get the facts in and wait until the police make their report.”

e-mail: lgroves@desnews.com; emorgan@desnews.com