Utah college student dies after falling from balcony: Officials
Stock image of police lights. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images
(ST. GEORGE, Utah) — A college student in Utah has died after falling off a balcony just days after the academic year began, according to the university and fire officials.
At approximately 5:45 p.m. local time on Sunday, fire officials and paramedics responded to reports of a “fall from a balcony” at Utah Tech University’s Campus View Student Housing, St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker said in a statement to ABC News.
The student — who has not been identified — was transported to St. George Regional Hospital where they died “due to the injuries sustained in the fall,” Stoker said.
The university said in a statement to ABC News that the community is “devastated by the loss of a member of our Utah Tech family” and that the student will be “deeply missed on campus.”
“We are thinking of the family and friends and will continue to support one another as we grieve together during this difficult time,” the university said.
Mental health professionals are available for students, faculty and staff “needing assistance processing this tragedy,” the university said.
Classes for the new academic year at Utah Tech began on Aug. 20, according to the school’s calendar.
The Utah Tech University Police Department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Views from the Drift Hotel March 25, 2019 Overseas Highway, Key Largo Florida (Photo by Paul Harris/Getty Images)
(KEY LARGO, Fla.) — The family of the 8-year-old old boy who was bitten by a shark while snorkeling off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, on Labor Day released a statement Wednesday thanking those who helped with his rescue.
Richard Burrows was bitten by a blacktip shark Monday afternoon while snorkeling with his father, David, and his sister, his family said in their statement.
The incident occurred around 3:24 p.m. on Monday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. The child was airlifted by Trauma Star to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
“Richard’s 10-year-old sister, Rose, was instrumental in her brother’s rescue and both of her parents are immensely proud of the strength of character and composure she demonstrated under pressure,” the family statement said.
A good Samaritan, identified as Richard Hayden, heard calls for help over the radio and helped guide the boy’s boat to shore, according to an incident report. Hayden assisted the child’s father in applying tourniquets to the boy’s right leg to control bleeding before emergency responders arrived, the report stated.
The family thanked Hayden in their statement, as well as law enforcement, first responders and medical staff.
“Richard is recovering well from his surgery and is gaining strength by the day. He is in good spirits,” the family statement said. “Our hope is that he will be back enjoying his passion for the ocean and marine life with his older sister in no time.”
“The Burrows family sincerely appreciate and thank everyone for their messages of support and well wishes and assistance in these past days. We now request some privacy for the family to focus solely on Richard’s recovery and will not be commenting further,” the family statement concluded.
The Labor Day attack marks the latest in a series of shark encounters in the Florida Keys region. Last July, Jose Abreu, 37, survived multiple bites from a bull shark while spearfishing near a reef off Key West.
The area has seen several serious shark incidents in recent years. Jameson Reeder Jr., who lost his leg in a bull shark attack in 2022, recently returned to the same waters where he was bitten.
“I was a little scared before I jumped in,” Reeder told ABC News in July. “For a split two seconds, it was like a whole flashback of the shark attack, but I knew I had the Lord and I just had a lot of fun.”
Scientists say there has been an increase in shark populations, which they attribute to warmer water temperatures and successful conservation efforts.
(NEW YORK) — Dozens of fires are burning throughout the West as parts of the country remain under advisories for high temperatures.
Red flag warnings are in place for Northern California and parts of Oregon due to dry thunderstorms possible on Wednesday. The storms bring little to no rain but still produce lightning and strong wind gusts, which can start new fires and exacerbate existing fires. Dry, warm conditions also continue.
In Washington’s Cascade Mountains, a red flag warning is in place for Thursday due to relative humidity dropping to 12% in places and high temperatures in the valleys between 97 and 102 degrees and 85 to 90 degrees in the mountains. These hot, dry conditions will lead to potential rapid fire growth.
High temperatures and heat alerts are forecast for the Northwest. Temperatures are expected to be between 93 and 103 on Wednesday and Thursday.
Yakima and Spokane, Washington, may hit their all-time September highest temperature record on Wednesday, with highs around 102 degrees possible in both locations.
Los Angeles and Burbank, California, remain under a heat advisory on Wednesday for temperatures reaching between 92 and 102 degrees.
Wildfire smoke continues to blanket the Northwest, and now additional smoke from Canadian wildfires will join the American fire smoke as northerly flow begins. A plume of heavy smoke is expected to reach Omaha, Nebraska, by sunset on Wednesday.
On Thursday afternoon, very heavy smoke is expected throughout much of the Rocky Mountains, reaching from Washington to Kansas.
Heavy smoke will also spread across southern Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri on Thursday.
From Wichita, Kansas, to Kansas City, Missouri, there is a slight risk — level 2 of 5 — for severe storms Wednesday after 6 p.m.
Large to very large hail is possible, potentially as large as tennis balls, with damaging wind gusts in excess of 60 mph also possible.
(NEW YORK) — A storm system closing in from the Atlantic Ocean is expected to become Tropical Storm Imelda by the end of this weekend, and could bring storm surges and high winds to the Southeast U.S. coastline early next week.
The National Hurricane Center said Saturday that the storm — currently officially known as Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine, or PTC Nine — was northwest of the eastern tip of Cuba as of 5 a.m. ET, moving northwest at around 7 mph and forecast to cross the central and northwestern Bahamas this weekend.
The storm is expected to approach the southeastern U.S. coast early next week. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the central and northwestern Bahamas.
PTC Nine is expected to develop into a tropical depression on Saturday and a tropical storm around Saturday night or early Sunday. When it becomes a tropical storm, it will take the name Imelda.
Rain associated with the storm is expected to impact eastern Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and the Bahamas, with flash and urban flooding forecast through the weekend, the NHC said. Mudslides are possible in higher terrain, it added.
Expected rainfall is around 4 to 8 inches for the Bahamas, 8 to 12 inches and localized totals up to 16 inches for eastern Cuba, and 2 to 4 inches of additional rain for other parts of Cuba, as well as Jamaica and Hispaniola.
Up to 3 feet of storm surge is also expected for the coastlines in the northwestern Bahamas.
As the system approaches the U.S., coastal Georgia, the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic states may all see flash, urban and river flooding, the NHC said.
The storm is expected to be at or near Category 1 hurricane intensity when it approaches the U.S. coast early next week, the NHC said, bringing storm surge and wind.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto has rapidly intensified to become the third major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. The NHC said Saturday that Humberto is expected to “remain a powerful major hurricane through early next week.”
Humberto is still expected to track west of Bermuda on Tuesday through Wednesday and stay hundreds of miles west of the U.S., eventually turning northeast and back out to sea without a landfall.
Swells generated by the hurricane will begin affecting portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Bermuda this weekend, the NHC said in its latest update.
