DesotoExplorer.com / Shawnee student dies in fall at University of Miami

Archive for Monday, April 7, 2008

April 7, 2008

Courtesy of TheMiamiHurricane.com

Kelly Jones

A Shawnee native, who will be remembered as a world traveler, died this weekend after apparently falling from a balcony of college residence hall.

Kelly Jones, 19, died Sunday morning at the University of Miami. Jones was a 2007 Mill Valley High School graduate and formerly worked at Minsky's Pizza in Shawnee.

According to the Miami-Dade Police Department, university police were dispatched at 3:29 a.m. to a report that Jones had fallen, either from a balcony or outdoor stairwell ledge. She was found semi-responsive outside one of the university's dorms, though it was not her own dorm, and taken to the hospital. Miami-Dade police became involved after Jones died at the hospital at about 9:30 a.m.

Police said the cause of death is unknown at this time pending a medical examiner's report, but based on a preliminary investigation, it appears that the fall was an accident. Police are asking anyone who knows about the accident to contact them.

"We don't really know what happened to freshman Kelly Jones in the early morning hours yesterday," Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami, said in a statement on the university's Web site. "However, we do know this: Kelly Jones was an extraordinary young woman who loved her many friends, her classes and life."

Shalala's statement explained that there would be a celebration of Jones' life at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday outside of her dorm.

"She was an excellent student, and she was always ready to turn classroom lessons into life experiences," the statement continues. "Kelly was a world traveler, who already had visited 22 countries and loved the diversity of people and ideas she discovered on our campus."

Alvie Cater, director of community relations for De Soto USD 232, said counseling services will be available for Mill Valley students.

Check shawneedispatch.com for further updates.