A female sophomore at Wesleyan University was hospitalized in critical condition after falling from a third-story window of a fraternity house Sunday morning, but police said Monday her condition had been upgraded to stable.
When Middletown police responded to the Beta Theta Pi house at 184 High Street house around 1:15 a.m. medical crews were already at the scene. The Wesleyan chapter of Beta Theta Pi is currently on probation.
A LifeStar medical helicopter airlifted the student to the hospital, where she was initially listed in critical condition. Police said Monday afternoon her condition has been upgraded to stable.
The victim has not been publicly identified.
Michael Whaley, vice president for student affairs at Wesleyan, released a statement notifying the Wesleyan community that the student "suffered multiple and serious injuries in a fall from a window at Beta Theta Pi."
He said in his statement that the student was taken to St. Francis Hospital and that family members are with her.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured student, who is improving, and we hope for a full and speedy recovery," Whaley said.
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Middletown police are investigating but said foul play doesn't appear to be a factor in the student's fall.
Wesleyan public safety officials also responded and are investigating the incident, according to Whaley.
Middletown police investigated a separate sexual assault case at the same house in April 2013. The organization's Mu Epsilon chapter was founded at Wesleyan in 1890, according to the university's Web site.
Another Wesleyan student previously sued the Mu Epsilon chapter, the university, landlord, house manager and the Raymond Duy Baird Memorial Association after claiming she was sexually assaulted there, according to a Courthouse News Services article from 2012.
Courthouse News Services reported that the student's complaint stated that Beta Theta Pi and Mu Epsilon lost "recognition from Wesleyan as a student organization" as a result of "a long-documented history of dangerous misconduct, student injuries and numerous sexual assaults of woman."
Students were shaken by the incident.
"It's extremely upsetting to the whole campus," said Liz Weinstein, a junior.
Sophomore Grady McGregor was there when the accident occurred.
"I heard something fall behind me and I went to go check on what it was," he said. "I found a girl who was lying unresponsive in the bushes and then I immediately called out for help."
Residential Life and Counseling and Psychological Services staff are available to speak with students about the incident.
