UT student dies after fall

A UT freshman died Friday morning after reportedly falling from the fifth floor balcony of the private University Towers dormitory at 801 West 24th St.

Tyler Cross of Georgia was a UT engineering freshman, said Student Emergency Services coordinator Latoya Hill.

An individual walking a dog reported Cross' body outside the dormitory around 4:20 a.m. Friday.

Authorities do not suspect foul play, said Austin Police Department Detective James Mason.

Xavier Gutierrez was sitting on a couch in the apartment directly below Cross' when he heard what he said sounded "like a beam fell, or a TV on the floor above".

"People in other rooms and all over the tower felt it," he said.

Cross was pronounced dead at Brackenridge Hospital Friday morning.

"The ambulance drove off slowly," Gutierrez said. "You could tell there was nothing to be done."

Cross lived with two of his classmates from his hometown of Marietta, Ga., where he attended the Lovett School. As a good student and gifted athlete, Cross had opportunities to attend other universities, such as the University of Georgia and Southern Methodist University, said his father, Don Cross.

"When he got into Texas, he knew he wanted to go there," Don Cross said. "He wanted to go to a school with strong academics and a big sports program."

Cross came to the University after his older brother, communication studies senior Colin Cross. He also pledged in the same fraternity as his brother, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

"He got really close with all his pledge mates at SAE," Don Cross said. "They were a very tight-knit group."

Sigma Alpha Epsilon held a vigil in honor of Cross for fraternity members Friday at 6 p.m., said fraternity treasurer Winton Coleman, a business senior. The fraternity cancelled all other weekend events, he said.

Memorial services will be held Monday at the H.M. Patterson & Son funeral home in Sandy Springs, Ga., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Don Cross said. Funeral services will be on Tuesday at Mount Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta, Ga., beginning at 2 p.m., he said.

The Lovett School has created a Tyler Cross Memorial Fund, Don Cross said.

Additional reporting by Nolan Hicks.

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