Cameron Dabaghi ID'd As Empire State Building Jumper: Yale Student Commits Suicide From Empire State Building Observation Deck Huffington Post/AP First Posted: 03-31-10 08:26 AM | Updated: 03-31-10 11:55 AM
The 34th street side of the Empire State Building of closed following the death of a man who plunged from landmark building, Tuesday, March 30, 2010, in New York. The apparent suicide came as tourists and officer workers milled around the famous skyscraper during the evening rush hour. Authorities wouldn't say what floor the unidentified man had jumped from within the 103-story tower. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)
UPDATE: The Empire State Building jumper has been identified as Yale student Cameron Dabaghi, an East Asian studies major from Austin, Texas.
In a letter to the Yale community, Yale College Dean Mary Miller wrote, "We are all deeply distressed by this news."
Dabaghi's sister is also a student at Yale.
According to witnesses, Dabaghi took a running start in order to clear the barrier on the observation deck on the building's 86th floor.
Dabaghi hit the ground "with a sickening thud" near a Bank of America branch.
A witness on the street told the Daily News that "his body was shattered and his sneakers were scattered on the sidewalk" after the giant "boom" of his impact.
One passerby apparently tried to cover up the gruesome sight by putting his umbrella over the body.
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More from the Associated Press:
NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Authorities say a 21-year-old man has plunged to his death in an apparent suicide jump off the Empire State Building during the evening rush hour.
Police say the man was dead when rescue workers arrived at the 102-story skyscraper shortly before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities wouldn't immediately release his name or say from which floor he had jumped.
The Empire State Building is the third-tallest building in the United States. More than 30 people have committed suicide at the building since it opened in 1931.
Before Tuesday, the most recent was believed to have been in 2006, when a man jumped from a vacant office on the 66th floor.
The skyscraper reaches 1,454 feet to the top of its lightning rod.
