Spring Break
Student dies after PFT jump
UPDATED: 8:48 p.m., Nov. 12
Amber Coulter and A. Layne Stackhouse
Issue date: 11/9/06 Section: Breaking News
Funeral services for Dylan C. Prott will take place at 4 p.m. Monday at the First Unitarian Church in Louisville, according to his obituary in The Courier-Journal.
Prott, 18, a Louisville freshman, was found dead early Thursday morning after police were told at 12:26 a.m. that he had apparently jumped from his room on the 20th floor, said Bob Edwards, assistant vice president of university relations.
An preliminary autopsy report revealed that he suffered severe body trauma, said Harold Sanson, a Warren County deputy coroner.
The autopsy was performed Thursday in Louisville.
His body was found on the side of the building that faces University Boulevard, the Herald previously reported.
The Warren County Coroner's Office will determine the official cause of death and perform a toxicology test, which is expected to take 30 to 45 days, Edwards said.
"We'll learn a lot more here in the next couple of days and weeks," he said.
Officials withheld the victim's name until Thursday so they could confirm it and contact his family members, Edwards said.
"We're not classifying this as a suicide," Edwards said. "We're not classifying this as anything right now."
Prott was an English and allied arts major, said Mike Prott, Dylan's father.
"He was a bright light," Mike Prott said. "He was free-spirited."
Dylan Prott liked to play bass guitar and was formerly in a band called Pocket Bomb, Mike Prott said.
"He was a good kid," he said, "He was just a very special person."
Dylan Prott's mother, who heard the news while she was in Scotland, is coming home tomorrow, Mike Prott said.
Louisville sophomore John Absher, a resident assistant on the 20th floor of PFT, said that he was called to Prott's room because Prott was causing a disturbance. He wouldn't comment further.
Edwards said officials have heard reports that Prott was under the influence of drugs before he died. They have also received reports that Prott was naked and acting erratically in PFT before his death.
According to an official statement Western sent in a mass e-mail, a preliminary report indicates that Prott disabled a safety device designed to keep the PFT dorm window from opening more than a few inches.
Dorm safety checks are conducted on the first Tuesday of every month, and the Nov. 7 check showed that the safety bar was in place, according to the statement.
One of Western's priorities following the incident will be to make sure safety checks are being performed and reported appropriately, Edwards said. Officials believe the checks were conducted correctly.
Edwards said Western has never had a problem, as far as he knows, with students removing safety bars.
Campus police are handling the investigation.
PFT is the tallest dorm on the Hill with 27 floors. The building, which was built in 1970, has more students living in it than any other dorm. There are about 900 students assigned to live there this semester, the Herald previously reported.
Western's next step will be to attend to students and employees' emotional well-being, Edwards said. They will pay particular attention to Prott's roommate, friends and family members.
Western will provide grief counselors to anyone who requests one, according to the statement.
Donations and letters to the Dylan Prott Memorial Fund can be sent to Jamie Prott at P.O. Box 4831, Louisville, Ky., 40204.
To contact Western's Counseling and Testing Center, call 745-3159.
Reach the reporters at news@wkuherald.com.
Check the Herald online for more updates.
Prott, 18, a Louisville freshman, was found dead early Thursday morning after police were told at 12:26 a.m. that he had apparently jumped from his room on the 20th floor, said Bob Edwards, assistant vice president of university relations.
An preliminary autopsy report revealed that he suffered severe body trauma, said Harold Sanson, a Warren County deputy coroner.
The autopsy was performed Thursday in Louisville.
His body was found on the side of the building that faces University Boulevard, the Herald previously reported.
The Warren County Coroner's Office will determine the official cause of death and perform a toxicology test, which is expected to take 30 to 45 days, Edwards said.
"We'll learn a lot more here in the next couple of days and weeks," he said.
Officials withheld the victim's name until Thursday so they could confirm it and contact his family members, Edwards said.
"We're not classifying this as a suicide," Edwards said. "We're not classifying this as anything right now."
Prott was an English and allied arts major, said Mike Prott, Dylan's father.
"He was a bright light," Mike Prott said. "He was free-spirited."
Dylan Prott liked to play bass guitar and was formerly in a band called Pocket Bomb, Mike Prott said.
"He was a good kid," he said, "He was just a very special person."
Dylan Prott's mother, who heard the news while she was in Scotland, is coming home tomorrow, Mike Prott said.
Louisville sophomore John Absher, a resident assistant on the 20th floor of PFT, said that he was called to Prott's room because Prott was causing a disturbance. He wouldn't comment further.
Edwards said officials have heard reports that Prott was under the influence of drugs before he died. They have also received reports that Prott was naked and acting erratically in PFT before his death.
According to an official statement Western sent in a mass e-mail, a preliminary report indicates that Prott disabled a safety device designed to keep the PFT dorm window from opening more than a few inches.
Dorm safety checks are conducted on the first Tuesday of every month, and the Nov. 7 check showed that the safety bar was in place, according to the statement.
One of Western's priorities following the incident will be to make sure safety checks are being performed and reported appropriately, Edwards said. Officials believe the checks were conducted correctly.
Edwards said Western has never had a problem, as far as he knows, with students removing safety bars.
Campus police are handling the investigation.
PFT is the tallest dorm on the Hill with 27 floors. The building, which was built in 1970, has more students living in it than any other dorm. There are about 900 students assigned to live there this semester, the Herald previously reported.
Western's next step will be to attend to students and employees' emotional well-being, Edwards said. They will pay particular attention to Prott's roommate, friends and family members.
Western will provide grief counselors to anyone who requests one, according to the statement.
Donations and letters to the Dylan Prott Memorial Fund can be sent to Jamie Prott at P.O. Box 4831, Louisville, Ky., 40204.
To contact Western's Counseling and Testing Center, call 745-3159.
Reach the reporters at news@wkuherald.com.
Check the Herald online for more updates.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 43
Glenda Shank
posted 11/09/06 @ 7:21 AM CST
This is so sad, and always is, when someone is so hurting that they see taking their life as a solution to life. Problem is that it is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. (Continued…)
Brittany Wick
posted 11/09/06 @ 9:00 AM CST
This is going to be a sad and sombre day on campus. I truly feel for the man, and I only wish he chose to talk to someone rather than this.
Karen Gray
posted 11/09/06 @ 10:08 AM CST
well, i woke up to someone yelling at me about this. i'm very affraid it might be someone i know. if anyone hears anything else about this, please contact me. (Continued…)
Antoine Lindsay
posted 11/09/06 @ 10:33 AM CST
Very sad thing to hear, and I mostly feel sorry for his friends and family. I didnt believe it at first until I went down to PFT and saw the scene. Many immature people (a. (Continued…)
Tony Arbuckle
posted 11/09/06 @ 12:29 PM CST
Thoughts and prayers go out to family, friends, and fellow students.
vanessarose13
Vanessa Winters
posted 11/09/06 @ 1:57 PM CST
Oh my gosh! I was awake in my room on the other side of the building when it happened and I had no idea what was going on... I had to find out from my dad who heard about it on the radio back in Paducah. (Continued…)
Kevin Sullivan
Kevin Sullivan
posted 11/09/06 @ 3:22 PM CST
The formidable presence of such a tall residential tower made me uneasy from the moment I first saw it. In my experience, a first impression has often proven true or warranted. (Continued…)
bgwatkins123
Rich
posted 11/09/06 @ 4:08 PM CST
Very sad. I attended WKU 83-88 (88 Grad) and lived in PFT in 83-85. I don't know how the windows are locked nowadays, but in my time, a small metal sliding rod was all that stopped the window from swinging open. (Continued…)
Sarah
posted 11/09/06 @ 4:45 PM CST
I lived at the 26th floor my freshman year of college. I knew several people who could easily take the window bars off. I had a very dear friend who didn't have hers on and one day we caught her trying to jump under the influence of drugs. (Continued…)
Jennifer
posted 11/09/06 @ 5:08 PM CST
My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family. It's been a very sad and somber day for the whole campus.
Stuff like this makes you rethink your life and also the safety of PFT. (Continued…)
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