During a visit Oct. 28 to Ohio University (OU), Miami University first-year Ilya Gikhman sustained serious head injuries after falling from a catwalk on the university's campus.
According to a report from the OU Police Department, Gikhman was found at 5:45 a.m. Sunday after a resident assistant reported that an unconscious male was lying on the ground underneath the O'Bleness House catwalk, which sits 13 feet 10 inches above the ground. The catwalk, located on the campus's South Green and connects dormitories to other buildings, contains only a railing separating pedestrian traffic from the edge of the walkway.
After OU police arrived, officers found that Gikhman had severe head trauma and deemed the accident alcohol related. Gikhman was transported to O'Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio. Soon after, he was moved to Grant Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio where Gikhman is currently in serious condition.
Upon identification of Gikhman, it was determined that he was not registered with the university to stay on campus. According to Sally Linder, senior director of media relations at OU, university policy states non-OU affiliated students are required to register with the school if they are staying with a student. In addition, the individual is charged a $25 service fee.
"This particular student was not a registered guest," Linder said. "So he had come onto our campus independent of being with someone else."
Because no one witnessed Gikhman's fall, Linder said the university is still investigating.
"The university's investigation is continuing," Linder said. "The student is still in the hospital in the trauma care unit. We don't really have any updates-it's just being investigated as a routine accident."
And while Linder said accidents such as this are uncommon, she did note the festivities that were occurring on campus that weekend. According to Linder, outside events were held in light of the Halloween season. She said these events are not sponsored by OU or the city of Athens, but rather are viewed as community events.
Since the weekend's incident, Miami was notified first, then the students' family.
Because of the accident at OU, Claire Wagner, director of university communications for Miami, said she encourages students to exercise safety on Miami's campus as well as when outside Oxford's campus.
"We always hope our students act responsibly and safe not only here, but wherever they are," Wagner said.
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