Lakeview Porch Faulted in Fatal Fall
Posted by
Christina ColeJanuary 13, 2007 8:22 PMAn inspection Tuesday, by the city, found rotted columns and inadequate bolts on the porches of a Lakeview apartment complex where a 25-year-old financial trader tragically fell to his death during a party on New Year's Eve, said officials.
Tenants are unable to use the porches until the violations are fixed, said Pete Scales, spokesman for Buildings Department.
Michael Doyle was rearranging a chair on a third-story balcony at approximately 1am when he fell through a gap in the railing, said Police.
The Cincinnati native was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition with severe head trauma, where he died only four hours later, according to the medical examiner.
City inspectors found that the horizontal railing Doyle fell through was adequate according to regulations when it was built. However, it does not meet 2003 changes to building codes, said Scales. The rail is made of two horizontal metal bars with large spaces between them, while the current code requires vertical bars run along railings, he said.
Apartments must meet building code in effect at the time of the construction, said Scales.
"Those horizontal balusters are potential hazards. But people have to take personal responsibility to avoid those hazards," Scales said.Detectives were conducting a death investigation, but the fall is thought to be an accident, police spokeswoman Kelly Liakopoulos said. Witnesses said Doyle had been drinking before the incident.