A Brazilian college president was struck and killed by a piece of stray roofing in a freak accident while on an architecture tour in Arizona, officials said.
Rogério Renato Mateucci, 55, was on a group tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West home in Scottsdale last Friday around 2 p.m. when strong winds gusting up to 32 mph dislodged a piece of roofing, AZ Family reported.
Mateucci, the rector of Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná in Brazil, was struck in the head by the roofing material and died instantly in what officials are labeling a weather-related accident, the outlet reported.
A spokesperson for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which is based out of the Scottsdale location, expressed their “deep condolences” following the shocking mishap.
“The property is closed to the public until further notice,” the foundation announced in a statement posted to Facebook.
Mateucci had been the Catholic university’s most senior head since 2022, the Brazilian outlet G1 reported.
The academic also held multiple degrees in education, including a doctorate from Fordham University in educational leadership, according to the publication.
Classes at the college were canceled Saturday through Monday in mourning of the rector’s passing, the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná said in a statement.
The university also announced a Mass in memory of Mateucci would be held on Monday, with funeral arrangements to follow once his body has been repatriated to Brazil.
In a press release, the university discussed Mateucci’s death in relation to the school’s Catholic beliefs.
“And, for those who believe, life is not taken from us, but transformed. Therefore, united by faith in the resurrection, let us now join in prayer for our dearest Brother Rogério,” the university concluded.
