Student Trapped Between Buildings Had Been Drinking

Asher Vongtau spent 36 hours in 6- to 18-inch crevice
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 5, 2013 6:17 AM CST

The New York Post's sources confirm what you probably already suspected: The NYU student who was found trapped between two buildings had been drinking before he fell from a fire escape into the narrow crevice. Asher Vongtau, 19, admitted as much to police, sources say. He left a friend's dorm room early Saturday and went to a courtyard where students typically smoke or drink, then made the fateful decision to climb the fire escape, sources say.

Vongtau made it to the second or third floor, then slipped and ended up wedged tightly into the 6- to 18-inch gap, where he remained for as long as 36 hours. Police think he may have jumped a railing and tried to get to the landing of the adjacent building when he fell, the New York Daily News reports. He broke his pelvis, some ribs and other bones, and fractured his skull, but his mother says "he's in good spirits." Despite everything, a friend insists Vongtau, a pre-law student, is "a very responsible person, more so than most college students." (More Asher Vongtau stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X