Official: South Carolina's freshman death looks accidental

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - The death of an incoming University of South Carolina freshman appears to be accidental, school spokesman Russ McKinney said.<br> <br> Jessica L. Horton, 18, of Suwanee, Ga., died Sunday after she fell six floors out of a dorm room window about 6 a.m., Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said.<br> <br> &#34;It&#39;s still under investigation,&#34; McKinney said. &#34;It looks accidental.&#34;<br> <br> Horton&#39;s roommate was not in the room when she fell from Patterson Hall, an all-female freshman dorm that houses about 600. Horton died at Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital about three hours after she fell.<br> <br> University president Adrew Sorensen, who took over on July 1, told freshman about Horton&#39;s death at a welcoming ceremony.<br> <br> &#34;It&#39;s as if a member of my family has been taken from us,&#34; he said.<br> <br> A security guard found Horton shortly after she fell and a resident assistant at Patterson Hall called police, school officials said.<br> <br> Counselors have been made available to meet with staff and students who were at Patterson during the incident, said Dennis Pruitt, dean of student affairs.<br> <br> &#34;I couldn&#39;t believe this would happen this early,&#34; freshman Jillian Brown said.<br> <br> Horton&#39;s family had not yet headed back to their hometown near Atlanta when she fell, school officials said.<br> <br> Freshmen began moving into residence halls Saturday.<br>