By Alice Haymond

Brian Hardin, a graduate student who died Wednesday, had been walking from the area on the corner of Woodland and Euclid avenues, said Detective Rob Wilson of Lexington police.

Farther down Woodland Avenue at East Maxwell Street, Hardin fell and hit his head, Wilson said. Wilson said he could not comment on whether Hardin was walking with anyone else that morning, and police are still investigating to see if foul play was involved.

Hardin’s death was the second student fatality last week, both occurring in the early morning hours. Freshman Connie Blount died early April 13 in a hit-and-run at the intersection of South Broadway and East Maxwell Street, police said.

A light-colored truck struck her at about 2:15 a.m. and then fled the scene, police said. She died hours later from her injuries.

Hardin tripped on the sidewalk at 4:33 a.m. on Wednesday and died of traumatic brain injuries nearly 10 hours later at UK Medical Center, according to the coroner’s office.

Hardin was a first-year doctoral student in physiology, said Michael Reid, chair of the Department of Physiology. Hardin worked in Reid’s lab researching muscle weakness in people with chronic diseases.

“He knew people far beyond my lab or our department, and there are many, many people who will miss that boy,” Reid said on Thursday.

Wilson said the investigation will probably not be complete until autopsy results come back in six to eight weeks. Until then, Wilson said police cannot reveal much of what they find.

Hardin’s funeral is today at 12:30 p.m. at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home on Harrodsburg Road. A visitation will be at 10 a.m. before the service.

Memorial contributions can be made to Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, 2201 Regency Rd., Suite 601, Lexington, Ky. 40503.