Pitt student dies after being struck by bus in Oakland

A University of Pittsburgh senior who aspired to be a research psychologist was hit and killed by a bus Saturday in Oakland, and sadness grew as word spread on campus.

Barbara Como, of Chester Springs, Pa., was at the intersection of DeSoto Street and Fifth

Avenue when a Port Authority Route 83 bus traveling inbound struck her shortly before noon. Pittsburgh police put the time at 12:25 p.m.

The inbound 83 Bedford Hill bus turns right onto DeSoto from Fifth, according to the bus route map.

Ms. Como was taken to UPMC Presbyterian, where she died at 2 p.m.

“The Pitt community is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Barbara Como . ... As the Pitt community mourns the loss of one of our students, we send our heartfelt sympathy to her family and friends,” the university said in a statement.

Port Authority declined to release information about the crash or the driver’s status other than that the driver was “shaken up,” spokesman Adam Brandolph said.

Port Authority police and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Collision Investigations Unit are investigating the incident. Pitt police also are assisting.

Ms. Como studied anthropology and psychology and was on track to graduate this spring, university officials said.

She lived on campus in Lothrop Hall and worked as research assistant at the university’s Learning Research and Development

Center.

Her bio on the center’s website reads: “My future aspirations are to attend graduate school with a focus on research psychology. I’m excited to gain more experience working in a lab environment, and to follow a research project from start to finish.”

Sadness set in at the residence hall as news of Ms. Como’s death

spread.

“One of my friends texted me and said she heard sirens and saw cops give CPR to a girl, but that it wasn’t working,” said Sargam Kharbanda, 20, a junior psychology major who lives on the seventh floor, where Ms. Como resided.

Ms. Kharbanda pointed to her phone screen while standing in the rain

Saturday night outside of the dormitory to show Ms. Como’s name in the seventh-floor group text.

“We were friends on Instagram, we follow each other,” she said.

David Huang, also a Lothrop resident, remembers being in two psychology classes with Ms. Como.

“I never got to know her well, but when I saw the news, I searched her [online] and I was shocked it was her. … Obviously it was already shocking and tragic, especially for a senior who worked so hard and was almost ready to graduate. But knowing who she was, seeing that familiar face made me think about life,” the 20year-old junior psychology major said.

A mass email was sent to all Lothrop residents at 5:29 p.m.

“Please know that we are here to support you as you grieve and process this sad loss,” wrote Kenyon R. Bonner, vice provost and dean of students.

The university is offering counseling on campus for both students and faculty.

“I was talking to my friends about being really grateful for those around you, ’cause this just goes to show that you never really know what might happen to them,” Mr. Huang said.