Tacoma firefighters and police officers responded to a fatal car accident on the University of Washington Tacoma campus Monday afternoon. According to Tacoma Fire Department and Tacoma Police Department officials, at approximately 1:30 p.m. a vehicle drove down a long set of outdoor steps at South Jefferson Avenue and South 19th Street. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. No pedestrians were seriously injured. This post will be updated as more information is available.

UPDATE | MON., AUG. 11 @ 3:30 P.M. — Tacoma Police Department spokesperson Loretta Cool met with local media Monday afternoon and provided the following statement:

At about 1:22 [p.m.] today we got calls for medical aid and police response. A van motorhome had lost control coming down the hill at 19th and directly into [the] UW Tacoma campus. The motorhome went over the sidewalk, hit the concrete planter barriers, and down the stairwell in the center of the campus. Fortunately, there were no students injured in the event. There were several students out that observed witnessed the accident and called 911 immediately. Unfortunately, the driver, as part of the accident, we believe at this point, and I’m not 100 percent sure, but she was ejected from the vehicle and the vehicle proceeded to roll over the top of her. At this point in time, the police department is going to call out the collision investigation team and they will do a complete recreation of the accident, as we do in fatalities and serious accidents. Family members of the female driver have been advised, but I don’t know if the entire family has been notified, so we’re not, at this time, releasing any names. I can tell you that she was a 65-year-old female. From what we know at this point, it appears that she was having some difficulty — mechanical difficulties — in her car that possibly caused the brakes to fail.

PHOTO COURTESY TACOMA FIRE DEPARTMENT