Des Plaines student's death at NIU ruled accidental
The death of a 19-year-old from Des Plaines who fell out of an 11th-floor dorm window at Northern Illinois University last month was ruled accidental, officials said on Tuesday.
Oluwarotimi "Timi" Okedina, a 2014 graduate of Maine East High School, died as a result of multiple injuries due to a fall from great height, said DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller.
NIU police said Okedina had LSD and marijuana in his system at the time of his death. Police Chief Thomas Phillips said his department conducted extensive interviews with those who were with the Okedina on the night he died.
"All evidence points to the student being alone in the room at the time of his death," Phillips said in a news release. "We believe that the presence of LSD and cannabis in his system impaired his judgment and caused him to ignore the risk of exiting the room through the window, which resulted in the fall."
Okedina fell to his death Sept. 26 from the 11th-floor of Stevenson Towers residence hall on campus. Okedina did not live in the dorm, officials said, and the screen on the window had been removed for an unknown reason.
Police said they are continuing a separate investigation into the source of the drugs ingested by Okedina.
Okedina was majoring in human resource management at NIU and was expected to graduate in 2018.