Mother dies in dorm bed fall

A UNC student’s mother died after falling out of a bed Aug. 19 and sustaining a head injury in Kenan Residence Hall.

Donna Sykes, 49, was found unconscious when EMS officials responded at 1:44 a.m, according to a campus police report. Sykes, who was staying with her daughter at the time, was later transported to the emergency room.

Information about the incident was not immediately released because the University defers to the privacy preferences of the family, said Christopher Payne, associate vice chancellor for student affairs.

“Our first priority is to support the student and the family,” he said.

The woman’s daughter contacted a resident adviser, who then called an ambulance, the report states.

Sykes was found unconscious at the scene by paramedics.

Bradley said the department is examining the safety of beds in residence halls, adding that the University usually receives between 50 and 100 railing requests each year. Railings are provided free to students who e-mail requests through FixMyRoom@fac.unc.edu.

“The manufacturer doesn’t require them and they haven’t really been an issue for safety reasons that needed to be addressed. Now we’re going back and taking a look at that,” Bradley said.

Payne said students have several options to increase safety measures in their rooms.

“Students have generally made their own risk assessment regarding their level of comfort with the options they have available to them including bunking, lofting, or leav ing the beds separate and on the floor,” Payne said in an e-mail.

In the incident report, drug and/or alcohol use was cited as a factor.

Rick Bradley, assistant director of the housing department, said that although alcohol intoxication often plays a role in the uncommon instance when students fall out of their beds, he believes it did not in this instance.

“I’ve been here for 15 to 16 years, and I can’t recall more than three or four,” he said. “They’re usually related to intoxication from a student. That was not the case in this instance, as I understand.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.