Coroner: Hampshire Middle School teacher died from fall

A Hampshire Middle School physical education teacher who died suddenly last week sustained fatal head injuries when she fell on campus, the Kane County Coroner's office reported Monday.

Officials said Barbara Taylor, 57, of Hampshire, suffered a "serious medical emergency" before school started Thursday. A student saw Taylor fall and ran to get help, allowing several employees to respond quickly.

Taylor was taken to Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, where she was pronounced dead at 9:29 a.m., according to the coroner's office. An autopsy performed Friday determined the preliminary cause of death was craniocerebral injuries due to a fall.

Toxicology results are pending, officials said.

Taylor taught for 11 years at Hampshire Middle School and worked in Community Unit District 300 for 21 years. She previously was a physical education teacher at Eastview Elementary in Algonquin and Golfview Elementary in Carpentersville, and coached middle school basketball and volleyball.

Social workers, crisis counselors, school psychologists and administrators have been on hand to provide grief counseling and help students and employees cope, district officials said.

• Daily Herald staff writer Madhu Krishnamurthy contributed to this report.