Memorial service expected to be scheduled for oct. 6

A SIUC student was killed Tuesday night after being hit by a pickup truck when walking near an alley north of the intersection at South State and East Mill streets in Carbondale.

Angela M. Ervin, 21, of Oak Park was taken by helicopter to a St. Louis, Mo. hospital, where she later died from her injuries.

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Carbondale Police responded to the scene at 6:30 p.m. after a local man said he witnessed the incident from his bedroom window, which faces the intersection.

The witness, who preferred to remain anonymous because of the severity of what he saw, said Ervin was wearing a Walkman type headset and appeared to not be paying attention when she attempted to cross the street.

A 1997 maroon Nissan pickup truck driven by a 16-year-old Carbondale male hit Ervin, but according to the witness, did not appear to be speeding. The witness said the young man was “hysterical,” after the incident.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the scene was marked with spray paint and covered with shards of glass. The witness stated that the window of the truck “blew out,” on impact.

Carbondale Deputy Chief Calvin Stearns said the initial investigation didn’t warrant an arrest or any charges against the driver. He said an accident reconstruction investigation would continue and did not know when it would be complete.

The death of Ervin, who was a senior majoring in history and studying Black American Studies as a minor, came as a shock to many of her teachers, fellow students and co-workers.

Jonathan Bean, a professor in the History Department, said he was surprised that Ervin was not in his Wednesday morning class because “she never misses class.”

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Shortly after, he was notified of Ervin’s death by fellow faculty.

“I expected big things from her,” Bean said. “She was a bright, energetic student.”

Not only did Pamela Smoot like Ervin as a student, she considered her a friend. Smoot, a professor in the Black American Studies program, met Ervin during her freshman year and said the thing she admired most about Ervin was her courage.

“She took three classes from me in one semester,” Smoot said. “And that takes guts.”

Smoot said she was crushed after hearing the news and was in denial that “the kind of student every professor would dream of” died so young. She announced Ervin’s death to her class and said several students got up and left after hearing the news.

Referring to Ervin as one of the sweetest people he knows, Rev. Joseph Brown, chair of Black American Studies program, said planning a memorial service for Ervin is a top priority.

Smoot, who plans on attending Ervin’s funeral, said a memorial service is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 6.

“She had such a sweet soul and a great personality,” Brown said. “And she made connections and that’s something I value.”

After working with Ervin for nearly three years at the Lentz Dining Hall, Lee England said Ervin was a social and “down-to-earth” type of person.

“You could just tell that she marched to the beat of her own drum,” he said.

After attempting to contact all of her students, History professor Mary McGuire, held back tears while comforting students having difficulty with Ervin’s death.

She had a 3 p.m. appointment scheduled with Ervin Wednesday to discuss ideas for a class project and was upset that Ervin would not have the chance to make a difference like she spoke about during Tuesday’s class.

McGuire said Ervin was well liked by fellow students and after hearing about Ervin’s death, one student proposed the idea of completing her project in Ervin’s memory.

“I’ve had thousands of students over the years and there are some that will always stick out and Angela will,” McGuire said. “It is just a tragedy, and she will be very missed.”