India-American student falls to death while jumping between roof-tops

Team Udayavani, Jan 14, 2020, 3:34 PM IST

New York: A promising 23-year-old Indian-American university medical student has plunged to his death while dangerously jumping between rooftops in Philadelphia, according to US media reports.

Vivek Subramani, a third-year student at Drexel College of Medicine, was found dead on the 1200 block of Buttonwood Street on Saturday, police said.

“There are no words to express the sense of loss when any young life is cut so short, and especially for someone with so much promise,” president of the university John Fry was quoted as saying by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The varsity said in a statement that Subramani fell from a balcony and was with two friends, also medical students, at the time of his fall.

However, the police’s version of the death contradicted the university’s explanation.

According to police, Subramani’s friends told them that they were jumping between the rooftops of their apartment building when the victim missed his mark and plummeted, hitting his head on the ground.

They also admitted that they had been drinking earlier that night.

Later, when his friends found him with his face down and lying in a pool of blood, they performed Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

The victim was pronounced dead at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital a short time later, police said.

Asked about the contradictory statements of university and police, Drexel spokesperson Niki Gianakaris said in an email: “The Philadelphia Police Department is handling the investigation so they would be the ones to confirm any details about the incident”.

A page set up for Subramani described him as a bright and caring person who was close to achieving his dream of becoming a doctor.

The Drexel Chapter of Sigma Beta Rho, of which Subramani was a member, has launched a GoFundMe to establish a scholarship for Drexel University College of Medicine students in the victim’s name.

The organizers of the fundraiser aim to raise USD 35,000 and have so far collected nearly USD 27,000.

“After speaking with the family, they have chosen to use this money in the way Vivek would’ve wanted them to. They have chosen to create an annual scholarship for aspiring medical students at the Drexel University College of Medicine to help them reach their dream of becoming a doctor,” the organizers of the fund said.

“Vivek was a bright, young and caring man who was so close to achieving his dreams of becoming a doctor. He would always brighten up any room he walked into and was more than a friend to those who knew him,” they said.