‘Shrooms to Blame in Henry Street Dorm Fatality — NY Daily News

By on November 8, 2010 10:53 am in Brooklyn Heights

Photo: Heather Quinlan/BHB

The NY Daily News posts a full account of Saturday night’s fatality at the Hotel St. George dorm:

NYDN: Cops are probing a Brooklyn College student’s fatal fall from an eighth-story dormitory window, which friends said occurred after he consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Michael Simmons, 19, fell to his death around 2 a.m. Sunday from the St. George Hotel in Brooklyn Heights…

There was no criminality, said police, who had not determined whether it was a suicide or an accident, or whether drugs were involved. An autopsy is being performed.

Simmons took mushrooms with a small group of people last night, friends said. The group split up shortly before Simmons fell, added the friends, who declined to give their names.

Note: Mr. Simmons was a student at New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, not Brooklyn College as reported by the Daily News.

WABC-TV’s report after the jump (note to Carolina Leid: the Hotel St. George is in Brooklyn Heights, not Downtown Brooklyn):

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  • http://loureads.com Lou

    While tragic, I’m sure the ‘Shrooms’ are not to blame… I just dislike stories that make it sound like the classic “I think I can fly” drug trip happened. Probably more a case of impaired thinking/balance and trying to smoke a cigarette out the window (which they do.) Were shrooms involved? Yeah. Were they the cause? Unlikely. Who knows where in the trip he was? I hope more of the story comes out.

    Cue harsh crackdown at the Student Housing. No more Four Loko for you!

  • AEB

    Of course tragic–and a reminder that nineteen-year-olds’ brains are still growing. Which is a fact, I believe.

  • http://loureads.com Lou

    Don’t they call these things “Death by Misadventure”? Again, I take issue with the death being caused by the shrooms. Poison mushrooms kill you. Those shrooms may make you act impulsively but they don’t kill you…

  • Heightsman

    I take issue with the kids saying everyone split up shortly before he fell. Friends don’t take shrooms and split up for the evening. They hang out and enjoy the ride together….might want to re-interview the kids.

  • Eddy de Lectron

    I doubt “Shrooms” had much to do with the poor lads demise. Even the article says the cause of the fall has not yet been determined.
    I have done Shrooms several times they don’t make you loose your senses. Other drugs like alcohol may have had more of a contribution.

    I agree with Heightsman

  • bkny

    He was a student of the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts.

  • A Friend

    I don’t really care about the drugs, or the story of the friends.
    I was one of mikes closets friends from when he was living in AZ.
    What i take offense to is that every site saying it may have been a suicide. He was a very happy person, with great friends and a great life. He was living his dream of going to acting school in NY.
    There is zero chance it could ever be suicide.

  • Heather Neal

    Whoever “a friend” is, thank you. Appearantly I’m not the only one trying to comment on every website that MIke did not commit suicide. As for the rest of you, shut the hell up and have some respect. Let Mike be in peace and remebered as the amazing soul that he was.I love you babe =( RIP

  • WillowtownCop

    Sounds like pure luck he didn’t hit anyone coming out of the subway on his way down. I suspect this conversation would be taking a different tone had he landed on an innocent person. Grown people don’t just fall out windows.

  • DAISY

    I’ve done them in the past and I have to say I never hallucinated from them. Just a very intense high and a feeling of euphoria. Hmm, I just feel really bad for the parents!

  • Arch Stanton

    @ Willowtown

    “Pure luck” Really, how many people are on that block at 2:00 am?
    Even if it was the busiest time of day there would still be much more empty than occupied sidewalk space at that location. Besides, I have never heard of a suicide jumper hitting anyone; I’m not saying it’s not possible or it never happens but it’s got to be pretty rare. Yes, suicide is an inconsiderate act and no, people do on occasion, fall out of windows by accident.

  • Abbyclaire

    I thought that Health and Safety regulations required window restrictions i.e. restricted openings on tall buildings to prevent anyone from accidently or intentionally falling from a window?

  • Homer Fink

    Actually if you watch the WABC-TV report, the vendor outside the St. George claims there were students on the sidewalk at that time:

    Gokhan Yacizi says Simmons’ body hit the pavement inches away from his food cart.

    He says students watched in horror as his body fell from an eighth floor window.

    “The students that were waiting here were screaming. It was a mess. It was awful,” Yacizi said.

  • Arch Stanton

    Is there really an open food cart there at 2 am?

  • MadeInBrooklyn

    I was walking home from work about 15-20 minutes before this occurred and the street between Pineapple and Clark was bustling with students hanging out, smoking, and waiting for food from the cart; this is usually the case on a weekend night there. Point being, he could’ve easily landed on someone. Regardless, this is quite sad but I don’t think blaming ‘shrooms is the way to go — sounds more like a tragic accident, probably having to do with leaning out a window to smoke.

  • BHProd

    That is generally a pretty busy corner – with the food cart and two 24-hour stores right within that block.

    That side of the block is common for students to hang out, smoke, talk and wait for food from the cart.
    I come home very early AM even on weekdays and I see people out there.
    It really is amazing no one was injured in his fall.

    It’s not fair for any of us to speculate about what happened. There should have been some sort of window restraints on that building – but I know part of it has been under construction as well.

    It’s just a sad story in an overall quiet neighborhood. And WABC’s Leid should know better than to call it Downtown Brooklyn and to report from an empty street in the Flatiron. They couldn’t get over the Brooklyn Bridge in time?

  • Alanna

    Sad. :( I feel horrible for his friends and family.

  • Kim

    It is a terrible tragedy that all of us here in Arizona are trying to wrap our minds around.
    I watched Michael grow up with my son and it is just the hardest thing to comphrend at this time.
    He was a wonderful kid with a great sense of humor. A talented actor who should have gone onto being a big star.
    He leaves a mother, father, two sisters, grandparents and a host of friends here who will miss him and still love him.
    Take time to tell your friends and family how much you love them. You never know what the future holds.

  • cat

    A Friend, Heather and Kim:
    I am so sorry for your loss. Whatever the circumstances, the end result is that Mike’s family and friends are grieving for the loss of this special soul among us. May you find comfort in the joy that he brought to your lives while he was here with you.
    signed: a mom in B’lyn Heights who cannot imagine the sorrow of losing a child

  • nabeguy

    To Michael’s friends and family, my deepest condolences for your loss. As I first posted upon hearing about this event, the circumstances surrounding it are incidental to it. From all the comments that I’ve read about Michael, it’s clear that we were prematurely denied of an emerging talent. As a middle-aged man who came up in the 70’s and 80’s, I often wonder how I survived the follies of my youth, especially given how many of my contemporaries at the time didn’t.

  • Grace

    It upsets me – some of the comments people leave on sites like these. If you didn’t know him, and you having nothing good to say, they don’t say anything. You can’t even imagine what his friends and family are going through right now. I do. And they’re torn up – just like you would be if someone you knew died. Mike wasn’t one to do drugs. And i don’t think he ever did. And yeah, college students do stupid things. And he made a bad decision if he did take the drugs. But for Christ’s sake he was 19 years old, and had JUST moved across the country to new york to go to a school where he knew no one. He would have been an incredible actor. He had gotten into a school that accepts 200 students a year. Less than 5% of the people who audition. He was INCREDIBLY talented. And for those of you who didn’t know him, it was NOT a suicide. Mike wasn’t just happy, he was JOYFUL. And he would never commit suicide – he also had NO reason to. So stop assuming you know what happened. Because Mike was the most amazing person i have ever met.