Mar 12, 2008 10:50 am US/Central
Man Climbs Up Fire Escape, Falls To His Death
Police: Michael Rivera Was Running In To Get Cash For Cab Driver
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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A 23-year-old man fell to his death late Wednesday from this building on East Chestnut Street.
CBS
A 23-year-old man is dead after falling from a fire escape on the 19th floor of the Gold Coast apartment building.
As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, Michael Rivera came home just after 11 p.m. Tuesday and told a cab driver to wait for him because he had no cash, according to initial reports.
Rivera gave the cab driver his credit card and ID and somehow got all the way up to the fire escape on the 19th floor of the building where he resided, at 215 E. Chestnut St. Rivera fell to his death, in what appears to be an accident.
A 60-year-old female resident said residents of the 22-story building sometimes smoke on the fire escape. The building does not have balconies, she said.
Many of the building's residents are students, and most of the units are rented, she said.
The resident, who teaches at Chicago's French cultural center, said when she got home about 1:30 a.m., four or five police cars were blocking the street and officers in the lobby told her someone fell.
"I was spooked," said the woman, who has lived in the building for 20 years.
The woman, who did not want to be identified, said there was a girl on the sidewalk crying hysterically.
"The building manager was as white as a sheet," she said.
The officers told her not to be concerned and it was safe go to her fourth-floor unit.
Police are trying to determine what Rivera was trying to do when the accident happened. Police do not suspect foul play, but Belmont Area detectives are investigating.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's office plans to conduct an autopsy later Wednesday.
CBS 2's Rafael Romo and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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