Two Temple University students have been hospitalized after plummeting four stories while they were allegedly trying to take selfies at a rooftop party, WPVI reports. The circumstances around the accident are unclear and both campus and Philadelphia police are investigating.
The incident took place at approximately 2 a.m. on Saturday morning when students were partying and drinking on a rooftop. The two 19-year-old women were trying to take a selfie together when they fell off the roof and landed in an alleyway four floors below.
One student suffered leg and ankle injuries, while the other is in critical but stable condition with injuries to multiple parts of her body, according to WPVI.
The building’s management company said that the building has a rooftop deck with a parapet wall and railings. However, student Arnav Johri, who has been up there, tells WPVI it isn’t safe.
“There’s not enough room blocking you from falling off,” Johri told WPVI. “So if you’re drinking and you run right into it, it’s really easy to slip right off because it only comes to like a little halfway between your knee and hip.”
Not the First Tragedy
According to ABC News, this isn’t the first time a Temple University student has fallen during a rooftop party. In 2013, 19-year-old freshman Ali Fausnaught was at a party just blocks away from this latest incident. She tripped over the roof’s 10-inch ledge and fell three floors to her death.
Neighbors hope that this tragic incident’s severity is enough to stop the students’ partying, which has continued despite the pandemic.
“The young adults, who are still children at heart, and they have no fear,” neighbor Ada Banks told WPVI. “We just hope that someone learns from their example not to be on the roof. It happens all the time.”
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WPVI
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