A college graduate was killed hours after obtaining his diploma when a car he was rebuilding and working on collapsed on him.
On Sunday evening, May 8, Ian Brunner, a 22-year-old Mechanical engineering graduate, was conducting extra work under his two-door 1994 Miata when a tool propping up the car fell.
Brunner, who graduated from the University of Dayton in Ohio, was in the parking lot of a student housing building at the time of the tragedy.
An unidentified 911 caller reported the incident on the 300 block of Irving Avenue, around 7pm.
‘I’m outside of Campus South Apartments at University of Dayton,’ said the unidentified caller, according to WHIO.
‘A car fell on a kid and he’s – this jack fell out from underneath him and he’s trapped underneath and not responding.’
Brunner, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘We ask that the community keep this young man’s family, friends and loved ones in their prayers,’ stated the university.
The university addressed Brunner’s death in an email at 1am on Monday.’
Asked about why the university did not speak on the incident earlier, campus officials told the TV station that their focus was ‘on the family who is finding out about the loss of their loved one and respecting their grief and their ability to inform immediate family members’.
‘This is a process and timeframe we can’t control,’ stated the school. ‘The University does have internal support structures that are immediately put into place for those in our community directly impacted by the loss.’
Brunner had fixed up his vintage black Miata in April according to reports.
‘Miata is pain. Miata is love,’ he wrote on Instagram at the time. ‘I just finished a full rebuild of the engine and it’s running great now! Thanks to everyone who helped.’