Higher Education
Higher Education

Georgia Tech police officer dies from COVID-19

Georgia Tech police officer James Cornacchia, pictured right, died Monday from COVID-19, school officials said. He served for nearly 20 years. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.
Georgia Tech police officer James Cornacchia, pictured right, died Monday from COVID-19, school officials said. He served for nearly 20 years. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.
By
June 5, 2020

A Georgia Tech police officer who served there for nearly 20 years has died from COVID-19, the school announced Thursday.

The officer, James Cornacchia, died Monday from the disease, Georgia Tech posted on its social media accounts. Cornacchia was last on campus May 12 and did not develop symptoms within 48 hours from that day, the school said. All campus police officers have been tested for the disease and each result came back negative, Georgia Tech said.

> MORE: Check out the AJC’s Coronavirus coverage

The school remembered Cornacchia as a loving husband, father and son.

“Officer Cornacchia was a valued member of the Georgia Tech community and will be sorely missed,” the police department said in a message.

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Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.

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