INITIAL ALERTEmail
We are deeply saddened to confirm that one of our students passed away in the crane accident in Seattle on April 27. Sarah Wong was in a car on Mercer Street when the crane fell. She was a freshman with an intended major in nursing and lived on campus. While we grieve the sudden and tragic loss of our precious student, we draw comfort from each other, our strong community of faith, and God's presence with us in times of sorrow. We ask that the community join us in praying for Sarah's family and friends during this difficult time.
This is a verbatim community-notification statement rather than a hazard alert: the danger had passed and was off-campus, so SPU's message confirmed a death and offered pastoral support.
The statement names the victim, her major (nursing), and that she lived on campus, personalizing the loss in a way a standard emergency template never would.
Sarah Wong was the only college student among the four killed; the others were two ironworkers and a retiree, which is why SPU's notification frames it as a single-student loss.