Teen critical after frat balcony fall

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) - An 18-year-old woman is in critical condition after falling from a second-story balcony at a fraternity house near the Western Michigan University campus early Wednesday morning.

Police already were patrolling Fraternity Village Drive to break up several large gatherings in the area. About 200 people were at a party at the Sigma Pi house, and police were approaching the residence on a noise violation when Jordyn Sanderson fell around 12:50 a.m.

"It was the noise of like, cranium hitting concrete," said Jonathan Eldred, a witness. "It was unmistakable -- you know that noise.

"My buddy had a cooler. She hit the cooler on the way down and she landed like, smack dab in the middle, between me and all my friends."

She was taken to Bronson Hospital and is being treated for a skull fracture. Sanderson is from the Portland area, but is not a student at WMU. Her friends said she is enrolled at Lansing Community College.

Sanderson's blood-alcohol level was released Thursday; it was .18.

"It will be hard to track down specifically what happened, just because of the environment," said Brian Uridge, the assistant chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.

On the balcony from which she fell -- which was not up to code -- there were loose and missing planks, investigators with the department told 24 Hour News 8.

The house was condemned by city inspectors Wednesday afternoon because of structural inefficiencies and code violations.

The property had a two-year certification that expired Aug. 26, said Tim Muelenberg, the code manager for the city of Kalamazoo. A letter was sent from the Community Planning and Development Department to the owners -- Fraternity Village Apartments LLC -- saying the building was due for an inspection, he added.

Those owners had been in contact with inspectors and arranged a meeting, Muelenberg said, but the actual inspection had not happened yet. In response to the incident, that inspection will take place immediately.

"(The) place was torn apart," Muelenberg added, saying there were clear life-safety code violations -- including significant damage to the balcony railing.

It appeared a large, concrete planter had been thrown down some inside stairs and some of those steps were broken, he told 24 Hour News 8. No one is allowed to occupy the building, Muelenberg said, and it will be "quite some time" before anyone can go back in.

Sigma Pi has been ordered by the university to cease and desist until the investigation into the incident is complete, said Cheryl Rowland, the executive director of University Relations. Sigma Pi cannot display its letters or officially meet as a group. The university is conducting its own investigation to see if there were any violations of the student code of conduct.

Although the fraternity is located off campus, if alcohol was being consumed by minors, there is a range of disciplinary actions the university can hand out, including getting tossed out of school.

There are more than 300 student organizations on campus, including 11 active fraternities. Although greek organizations are official student groups, the university does not supervise them.

All fraternities and sororities have been advised not to throw parties during Welcome Week, because the university has sanctioned events it wants first-year students to attend, said Dr. Diane Anderson, the vice president of Student Affairs for WMU.

The university is taking the incident very seriously, Anderson added. WMU is conducting its own investigation and will cooperate with the official investigation by the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. Western's primary concern at this moment, she said, is for Sanderson.

Police still are trying to determine why she was attending the fraternity party and whether she was drinking at the time of the fall. Sigma Pi may face some serious sanctions and possibly a criminal investigation. Already, a noise violation citation has been issued.

Officers say they need more witnesses to come forward.

Fraternity members are not commenting.