EKU Professor dies after being hit by car

EKU President David McFaddin is expected to release a statement in the coming days

RICHMOND, Ky. (WTVQ) – According to the Richmond Register, an Eastern Kentucky University biology professor died on Friday after being hit by a car in the parking lot of a Wendy’s.

The Register says it happened on Thursday, November 4th on North Keeneland Drive.

64-year-old Suzanne Byrd had been in the ICU at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington when she died.

According to the Richmond Register, Richmond Police Chief Rodney Richardson says Byrd was leaving Wendy’s on foot when she was hit by the car entering the parking lot.

As of Monday, Nov. 8, Richardson said no preliminary charges have been filed and RPD’s collision reconstruction team is still actively investigating the incident, according to the Richmond Register.. Richardson reported all parties are cooperating with the investigation.

According to the newspaper, Byrd received her Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from Austin Peay University in 1979, and her Ph.D. in anatomy and molecular biology from the University of South Alabama in 1987. In 1991, Byrd was hired as a faculty member at EKU in the department of biological sciences.

She was awarded numerous honors for her teaching while at EKU.

She won the university’s Critical Thinking Teacher of the Year in 2015-16 and 2015’s Golden Apple Award.

According to the Richmond Register news partner Eastern Progress, in an email statement to faculty, interim dean for the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences John Bowes expressed his sorrow about Byrd’s passing and her impact at EKU.

“A faculty member devoted to teaching and her students, she touched many lives on this campus,” Bowes wrote.

Byrd’s funeral services are being held at Oldham, Roberts, and Powell Funeral Home. Her visitation is scheduled to take place on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. Byrd’s funeral is scheduled to follow the visitation.

EKU President David McFaddin is expected to release a statement in the coming days.