Meteor Strikes Dorms

By Beth Renneisen

SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of San Francisco State University students fled for their lives from a surreal scene of rubble, fires and noxious fumes as a rogue meteor, approximately 20 feet in diameter, struck without warning this morning just outside the door of the Mary Ward Hall.

At approximately 10 a.m., a loud boom, described as a “supersonic” by some students, was followed by the impact of the huge stone, which shook the entire campus, and was felt as far away as Marin County. Pieces of the meteor and secondary, smaller objects rained down on the Centennial Square student housing complex for another ten minutes as screaming residents ran for safety. Police and fire officials, who were keeping onlookers away from the immediate area, described the scene as “chaotic.”

At least one student was buried in rubble and killed, and several others with critical injuries were being transported to local hospitals. Regional hospitals were on full emergency alert, awaiting the arrival of more victims. Several hundred students would have been expected to be in or around the dorms at the time of the incident. Emergency personnel were being kept at a distance due to possibility of radioactivity emanating from the space object.

Dr. John Hubble, SF State scientist and noted authority on planetary debris, described the meteor as “too small to be detected by ordinary telescopes” and possibly a “rogue” from another solar system that was captured by Earth’s gravity as it passed through our galaxy. Hubble said that such meteors have stuck Earth regularly for millions of years, but “never on a college campus.”

The university is conducting a massive search to determine how many students may still be trapped in the quarantined area. From a considerable distance, the glow of multiple fires and billowing smoke could be seen rising from the campus. The meteor itself was said to “glow,” according students who had escaped. Officials declined to provide further information, as they awaited the arrival of a specially equipped team, who were expected to comb the dorms in protective suits.

At press time, the campus and an area of two square miles was being evacuated as a precaution, and news teams, including helicopters, were being kept away from the impact site.