With her studies behind her, she was headed home to her native Scotland. But, instead of a homecoming, her friends and family are planning a funeral.
"There's a palpable sadness throughout the law school," spokesperson Matt Marvin said. Marvin spoke to Eyewitness News on behalf of several /*UNC Law School*/ faculty and staff members grieving Moran's tragic death.
Police say Moran was jogging along Manning Drive when she collided with a /*Chapel Hill Transit*/ bus. The cause of the accident is still under investigation. Eyewitnesses recall emergency workers desperately trying to revive Moran at the scene.
"There were some people trying to help," UNC student Vivian Morris said. "She wasn't moving."
The Glasgow University student came to the UNC campus in January. Her family was expecting her to return next week.
University officials say during her brief visit to UNC, she made several friends. With the spring semester complete, many of them learned of Moran's death in e-mail messages, phone calls and an official statement posted on the UNC School of Law Web site.
Today a private firm specializing in accident reconstruction surveyed the scene of the accident. Workers took careful measurements of the busy intersection, focusing on the area where Moran was struck by the bus. Her death marks the 12th accident involving a pedestrian and a vehicle along Manning Drive in recent years.
Police say their investigation will be complete next week. The bus driver is on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
"This is a very sad kind of occurrence," Steve Spade, director of Chapel Hill Transit told /*Eyewitness News*/. "We certainly are cooperating in every way."
