Next epidemic: Falling off the roof in Kansas

[hoosier]

Oct. 26, 2004

KU, K-State students injured in falls

By DIANE CARROLL The Kansas City Star


Two college students were in critical condition today after separate falls, one at Kansas State University and the other at the University of Kansas.

Michael K. Brothers, a junior at K-State, fell at 1:30 a.m. today from a second-story balcony at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house in Manhattan, said Scott Jones, the university's director of Greek affairs. Brothers, of Cherryvale, Kan., was taken by helicopter to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, where he was listed in critical condition this afternoon.

At KU, an 18-year-old freshman from Lenexa fell at 3:40 a.m. Sunday from a second-story roof at a house at 1045 Tennessee St. Sara Anne Driessel was taken by helicopter to the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., where she was in critical condition this afternoon.

Jones said Brothers, 21, fell over a balcony railing. He is a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and was visiting Alpha Tau Omega. Jones said K-State was looking into whether alcohol was involved. There was no party going on, he said, and no reason to think that hazing was involved.

In Lawrence, Sgt. Dan Ward said Driessel's fall appeared to be “a tragic accident.”

“It doesn't appear to be of a criminal nature,” Ward said. “We're working it like a medical emergency.”

Ward said Driessel went out on the flat roof to smoke a cigarette. A short time later an individual inside heard a crashing noise, Ward said, and the individual found Driessel on the ground. Ward declined to say if alcohol was involved.

The house has a door to the roof. There is no railing around the roof, which is a violation of city code, said Barry Walthall, code enforcement manager. Walthall said his office looked at the house this morning after someone called the city to complain about the lack of a railing.

The city will notify the property owner of the violation, Walthall said, and give the owner a deadline in which to correct it. If the violation is not addressed within the time frame, he said, the matter would be referred to municipal court.