UI student satisfactory after frat fall
A University of Idaho student who fell out of a third-floor fraternity house window remained in satisfactory condition Saturday at a Spokane hospital.
Gawain “Dewey” Neighbor, 21, of Boise, fell out of an open window on the sleeping porch at the Beta Theta Pi house, 727 Elm St. in Moscow, around 4:15 a.m. Friday, said Joni Kirk, UI spokeswoman.
Ken Henderson, house president of Beta Theta Pi, the largest fraternity house on the Moscow campus, said Neighbor suffered broken heels, ankles and a small fracture in his lower back and may undergo surgery either today or Monday.
Henderson said Neighbor will not be back at school this semester.
“The doctor said … after a summer of recovery he should be able to come back. He’s doing great. He’s in high spirits. He has full movement,” said Henderson.
He confirmed that Neighbor had been drinking at an area bar Thursday night.
Fraternities and sororities on the campus were dry, meaning no alcohol on school property because it was Greek Week and Vandal Friday.
“Every time high school seniors come up to visit, the campus goes dry. He was at a bar. He’s 21. There was no alcohol on campus or in the house,” said Henderson.
He said that there were six students sleeping in the 10-person sleeping porch. Two students heard moaning outside, and they found Neighbor on the ground. They took him to Grittman Medical Center in Moscow, where he was treated before being transported to Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane.
“As far as the police are concerned and everyone else is concerned, it was a complete and utter accident,” Henderson said.
A Moscow Police Department spokeswoman said that no information on the incident would be released until Monday.
Neighbor’s bed was located right next to an open window, and he apparently was disoriented and got up on the wrong side of the bed, Henderson said.
University health codes require that a window be open at all times in the sleeping area.
“What we’re dealing with right now is a way to secure those windows so it doesn’t happen again,” Henderson said. “And we hope that other fraternities will consider taking proactive measures (to make sure windows are secure) as well.”