Fall from tree quiets celebration

The celebration of Michigan's victory over Ohio State was brought to a shocking halt when a 23-year-old man fell about 40 feet from a tree in front of University President Lee Bollinger's house.

Thousands of students on South University blocked traffic as they celebrated the Wolverines' invitation to the Rose Bowl. They cheered on tree-climbers as they climbed trees and swung on branches.

The person who fell was the one who climbed the highest; he made his way to the top branch.

"His goal was to get to the top," said LSA student Nathan Robbe. "He was holding little branches like he was a monkey. I knew from the beginning that he would fall. He must have been drunk."

When he reached the top of the tree, he began to dance and move around, while crowd members surrounding the tree shouted, "fucking moron."

"He went right on top, shaking the tree, then he lost his footing," said Engineering senior Amit Advani.

After being on top of the tree for a few minutes, the climber slipped from the tree. As he fell, his back hit a branch, causing the branch to break; he landed face down on the grass-covered part of the sidewalk.

"He was flipping as he fell," said LSA first-year student Ronjit Das.

When he fell, the students in the crowd moved onto the sidewalk to allow the Department of Public Safety and Huron Valley Ambulance officials to care for the injured person.

One crowd member attempted to take photographs of the man, but other people in the crowd yelled at him and physically prevented him from getting closer to the victim.

Even after the ambulance brought the injured man to University Hospitals, silence blanketed the once boisterous crowd on South University Avenue.

"It was surreal watching him fall," said LSA and Art sophomore Emily Linn. "Then, it was just completely silent."

Over the weekend, the victim's status moved from serious to fair condition, and he is currently at the University's Trauma and Burn Center, said University Hospitals spokesperson Mike Harrison.

Harrison said the victim's name and injuries are not available to the public.

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