A 21 year old man is in critical condition today after falling from the roof of a three story apartment building at the intersection of Boulevard and West Main Street. According to the Richmond Police Department the individual fell after engaging in an alcohol fueled dare to jump the gap between two buildings.
Richmond police Capt. David L. Martin said the victim was taken to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening internal and head injuries.
Martin said authorities were called to an alley behind 9 N. Boulevard at 2:53 a.m. and found the victim on the ground, bleeding from his head and other areas....
....Martin said the three had decided to use a ladder to climb to the roof of 9 N. Boulevard, where the victim jumped to the roof of adjacent 7 N. Boulevard. When the victim tried to jump back to the roof of 9 N. Boulevard, he didn't make it and plunged to the alley below.
Much ridicule has been directed at the poor judgment of the intoxicated victim on area news sites such as the Times-Dispatch and CBS 6 with little inquiry into the conditions that led to this tragedy. Where did this ladder come from? Was it the tenant's ladder or the property owner's? If the ladder was the latter, did it serve as an attractive nuisance?
Comments
fall
It has all been said before me. One less idiot in our way. MTV created this I believe. Choice of a new generation,Jackass. Suck it up and bleed.
I can't believe you are
I can't believe you are trying to put this on the property owner in any way. An attractive nuisance? Give me a break.
Not at Fault, But Not Innocent
It's not the property owner's fault that an intoxicated resident tried a Super Mario Brothers jump off their roof. At the same time, this drunk individual would never have had access if the landlord didn't leave a ladder against the side of the building. If you are in the business of renting properties your job is to reduce risks of injury, not leave open invitations for accidents laying around.
Not Surprising
I lived in that apartment building for a year and I can confirm that ladders were frequently left laying around by the landlord's handyman. I always worried someone would use one to break into my apartment window, never thought anyone would climb to the roof and jump off. Either way, leaving ladders laying around in the city is an invitation for trouble.
Not the owner's fault...
Attractive nuisance only works with children.
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Is the tragedy that Darwin failed us and he surived?
In the last paragraph, do you
In the last paragraph, do you mean that you think it's the ladder-owner's fault that these people thought it was a good idea to jump around three stories from the ground?