University student falls out of 8th-floor window and miraculously survives
Kristin Sargent of the University of Georgia is a walking, talking miracle after plummeting eight floors from her flat window last weekend.
On Saturday, 26 September, the 21-year-old finance and marketing student was dancing on her couch in The Rambler building, West Broad Street, city of Athens, while watching the Georgia Bulldogs American football team put the Oklahoma Sooners to the sword in a game that concluded 41-13.
Although it's unclear exactly how the nearly-tragic incident came to pass, Kristin ended up falling out of the window all the way down to the pool deck.
Her father, Richard Sargent, told Channel 2 Action News of his 'pretty badly beaten up daughter' in the aftermath: "She's a good fighter, and so she's going to be OK".
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Per The New York Post, various broken bones were sustained upon impact, and Kristin told her friends that she couldn't believe she'd survived the horrifying descent.
A responding officer named Erik Ellison has since opened up about the case.
"I arrived and spoke with bystanders who advised that the female victim had been dancing on a couch or air mattress which was near an open window and had apparently fallen through the screen and onto the ground below," he recalled.
"When I arrived, the victim was on the ground near the pool, which at this complex is in a courtyard on the second floor of the building. It appeared from the scene that the victim had struck a metal bench as she fell, as the cushion on the bench had some blood on it, and the armrest of the bench had broken off."
Kristin and a bunch of student witnesses were subsequently interviewed at the local hospital, with all collected information suggesting her fall was accidental.
"At this time it appears that the victim will survive," he added, with Kristin still being looked after in intensive care at the time of writing.
Following the student's immense slice of luck, The Rambler published a reminder to all its residents highlighting that the windows are installed with safety limiters, which cannot be tampered with, removed or disengaged.
Authorities are yet to clarify whether or not Kristin's window was fitted with a safety limiter though.
"Our thoughts are with our resident, and we are wishing for a speedy recovery. We are continuing to gather information and review the circumstances surrounding the incident," a representative for The Rambler noted in a statement obtained by The New York Post.
According to dad Richard, the family rushed from their house in Virginia over to the hospital as soon as they received a phone call about Kristin's accident. "Oh my God, Kristin's had a tough fall," he was informed over the line.
At the building in question, a huge poster now reportedly decorates one of its main walls, stuffed with well-wishing messages from Kristin's university peers and mates.
In much less fortunate news, a British mountaineer recently lost his life after a 200ft fall in Spain's Cantabrian Mountains. He was descending the Torrecerredo peak.
Topics: US News
Dan Seddon