Intoxicated student found in Shepard, taken to hospital

Paramedics took an intoxicated underage student to the hospital Monday morning after she drank at a fraternity house, police said.

A Community Assistant in Shepard Residential College, 626 University Place, told a University Police officer at about 2 a.m. that the girl was in the basement bathroom. When the girl exited, the officer saw she had trouble walking and smelled strongly of alcohol, University Police Deputy Chief Dan McAleer said.

The officer supported the student by her arm to keep her from falling as he escorted her to an ambulance waiting outside. The student said she had been drinking shots of vodka at a fraternity, but she could not remember which one, McAleer said.

The ambulance transported the intoxicated student to Evanston Hospital, 2650 Ridge Ave.She will be referred to the Office of Student Affairs.

Lit firecrackers thrown into fraternity house at 3 a.m.Several individuals may have thrown lit firecrackers through a fraternity house’s fire escape window Monday night, activating a fire alarm, police said.

UP officers responded to an activated smoke detector on the second floor’s north corridor of Chi Psi, 2313 Sheridan Road, at 2:48 a.m. Despite the faint smoke in the air and the strong odor of lit firecrackers, the alarm was not audible when officers entered the building, McAleer said.

The officers found three spent firecrackers on the second floor and saw that the second-floor window to the fire escape was open. Police believe someone may have thrown the fireworks in through the fire escape, McAleer said.

There are no leads.

Facilities Management electricians will investigate why the alarm was not audible when police entered. – S.K. Dachowitz