1963 - 2023

On the morning of September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were commandeered by terrorists and crashed into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Later that morning, both towers and surrounding buildings collapsed, sending a large cloud of toxic dust and smoldering debris through lower Manhattan.

Operational Support Technician (OST) Diane Hunt was at work in the New York Field Office on September 11, 2001, and returned the next day to ensure her vital work for the field office continued without interruption. Hunt commuted through the impact zone on a regular basis without personal protective equipment to shield her from the toxic debris from Ground Zero.

In September 2020, Ms. Hunt was diagnosed with aggressive endometrial carcinoma, which progressed to stage IV peritoneal carcinoma. She succumbed to the disease on April 26, 2023. Extensive research by the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health established sufficient evidence that Hunt’s exposure to the air in and around the World Trade Center site either precipitated or accelerated her development of the disease.

Hunt was born on April 4, 1963, in New York, New York. She entered on duty with the FBI on August 28, 1988.