U-M Student Falls to Death Through 3-Story Glass Ceiling

A University of Michigan student fell three stories to his death early Friday morning after walking across and breaking through the glass roof covering Nickels Arcade in Ann Arbor. (Photo via Facebook)

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A University of Michigan student broke through a glass ceiling and fell three stories to his death in the atrium area of an Ann Arbor shopping center about 2:20 a.m. Friday, police said.

The student, a 21-year-old man from Saugatuck, and a female companion walked across the glass surface, and were walking back when he fell through. The female was not injured, but was shaken up, police said.

Nickels Arcade is a pedestrian mall just outside the U-M campus in the vicinity of South State Street and North University. A pitched glass roof covers the atrium area of the mall.

Ann Arbor Police Lt. Renee Bush told WWJ/CBS Detroit she doesn’t “know how they got access to that particular area.”

When police arrived, several people were trying to revive the student, who was rushed to the University of Michigan Hospital, where he later died.

The accident remains under investigation. It’s not known if alcohol or drugs were a factor.

“This whole situation just makes all of us sad because it’s totally preventable. I just don’t understand why they were up there,” Bush told the radio station. “...Could somebody walk on that glass? I really don’t know.

“I mean, normal people ... would not go up there and walk on glass because our experience tells us that it’s not a very strong structure,” she continued. “That’s very unusual.”