Flowers and heartfelt notes beautify the corner of Third Street and Indiana Avenue just off campus in Bloomington. Right in the center, there is a picture in memory of Daniel Plebanek.
On Sept. 29, Plebanek was struck by a pickup truck near this spot. He died due to injuries the next day, IU Police Department Chief Shannon Bunger said.
Plebanek was a Ph.D candidate in the Indiana University Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
“I saw Dan every day, there is an enormous hole in my lab, my class, and in my heart,” said his advisor, Karin Harman James.
James said Daniel has been granted his Ph.D posthumously.
She also said donations have allowed the department to establish the “Daniel Plebanek Graduate Research Fellowship” as well as a memorial bench that will be placed outside the psychology building.
James is hosting a memorial service on Oct. 23 for his friends and family. The time and location will be decided later. For more information, contact Karin Harman James.
