BU student had been drinking before fatal fall
Police cite report from witnesses
Babur Z. Khalique, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student who fell three stories to his death early Saturday, had been drinking alcohol through the day and evening before he died, according to statements made by witnesses to the Boston Police Department.
Witnesses also told police that Khalique had fallen down and cut his head Friday night, prior to his fatal accident, said Officer Joe Zanoli, spokesman for the Boston Police Department.
Khalique fell from the fire escape outside a third-floor apartment at 5 Walbridge St., sometime after midnight Saturday. Around 1 a.m., he was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses told Boston police that several people who had been on the fire escape with Khalique had gone inside, leaving him alone. When they returned, they saw that he had fallen to the sidewalk below.
The death is being investigated by the Boston Police Department and the Suffolk district attorney. An autopsy is scheduled for today, according to Jake Wark, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. Law enforcement officials said the death appears to be accidental.
Zanoli said witnesses told police that Khalique had been drinking “during the day and night’’ before the accident occurred.
Khalique’s death stunned students and staff at the college. Boston University officials said the school will offer counseling to students to help them with the grieving process.
“As a dual-degree candidate . . . he had worked closely with many students,’’ BU spokesman Colin Riley said of Khalique, a witty New Jersey native who was getting a degree in medicine and a doctorate in bioengineering and hoped to become a radiation oncologist. “We are making sure counseling is available at the medical campus and we will have meetings as well.’’
A memorial service may be planned for a later date, Riley said.
Khalique’s death was at least the sixth time in the past three years a Boston-area college student has died after falling from a building.
Janet Kolodzy, an associate professor at Emerson College, has dealt with several tragic deaths of young students in recent years. She said it is important for college faculty and staff to offer to help students cope with the loss.
“The first thing you need to do is to reach out to the students and let them know there is a place for them to go and people for them to talk to,’’ she said.
Riley said Boston University will continue to emphasize the importance of safety for students living on and off campus. Khalique lived in an off-campus apartment.
“The safety and security of our students is always our highest priority,’’ Riley said. “The university regularly provides information to students and others in the university community about issues of personal safety and security and, yes, we will continue to do so.’’