A Northern Illinois University student who was killed after falling 11 stories from the window of a campus dormitory over the weekend has been identified as a 19-year-old sophomore, standout student and accomplished athlete.
Oluwarotimi Okedina, known as "Timi," of Des Plaines was on the 11th floor of NIU's Stevenson Towers residence hall when he fell from an open window around 10 p.m. Saturday, officials said. He was transported to Kishwaukee Hospital where he died of his injuries.
An autopsy conducted Tuesday confirmed Okedina died from closed injuries sustained from the fall, but the events leading up to his death are still under investigation.
Toxicology samples have been sent to a private lab for testing, according to the DeKalb County Coroner, and once returned the cause and manner of his death will be released.
Okedina's father, Olajide Okedina, told the Chicago Tribune his son was studying geology and hoped to become a teacher. He told the Tribune the 19-year-old was living in a dorm on campus and that he was an "excellent, very, very good student," who excelled in soccer and basketball as well as enjoyed art and poetry.
Okedina was remembered as an accomplished soccer player at Maine East High School in Park Ridge before he graduated in 2014 went on to NIU. Maine Township High School District 207 released a statement Tuesday expressing great sadness upon learning of his death. He had helped their team reach a regional soccer championship in 2011.
“I and the entire university community are deeply saddened by this tragic news,” said NIU's vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Eric Weldy, in a Sunday evening campus announcement.. “Our collective hearts and prayers are with the student's family and friends during this difficult time.”
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Stevenson Towers consists of four 12-story living and dining halls located on the university’s western edge of campus.
