University of Wisconsin senior Eric Passon died after falling 50 to 60 feet inside a Fond du Lac warehouse in the early morning hours of New Year's Day.
Authorities said Passon, a 21-year-old Waupon native, and a friend entered the Giddings & Lewis plant in Fond du Lac a few hours after midnight on Jan. 1. They attempted to climb a crane inside the building and Passon fell from either a ladder or the crane at approximately 3 a.m.
Passon's friend was too petrified to come down after seeing Passon fall, police said, and remained atop the crane for several hours before flagging down police at 12:42 p.m.
Passon was already dead when police arrived.
A security guard on duty at the plant that morning told police she saw Passon's legs lying on the floor but assumed they were those of a "dummy" and did not bother to investigate.
Police do not suspect foul play was involved, but said alcohol was a contributing factor.
"It was a case of poor judgment and alcohol being a heavy influence in that poor judgment," Fond du Lac Police Department Lt. Steve Klein said.
Police have yet to determine how Passon and his friend entered the warehouse, Klein said.
"The investigation is still ongoing," he said.
Friends called the behavior uncharacteristic of Passon and were shocked to hear he was involved in such an incident.
"This was not really like him at all," UW senior Natasha Rabehl said.
Both she and Passon attended high school together and were former roommates.
"I heard from a friend in high school and couldn't believe it was Eric," Rabehl said.
While at UW, Passon was a Dean's List student majoring in kinesiology and was on track to graduate in May. He also worked as a building manager at Memorial Union and volunteered his time working with people with disabilities.
Rabehl added that Passon was supposed to stand at a friend's wedding during the weekend of Jan. 7.
"You can just tell how many people he affected by how jam-packed the church was [during Passon's funeral]," Rabehl said. "He did not have a mean bone in his body. He was always nice to everyone."
University officials expressed sympathy for Passon's family and friends and said they were saddened.
"He was a great student and a good contributing person on campus," Interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam said. "It is a very sad day for Eric's family and friends — and the university."
Berquam said the university has not yet planned any type of memorial service for Passon, adding the administration will wait and adhere to the wishes of his family and friends.
But Berquam said she hopes students will learn something from the tragedy.
"Life is short, and you can't take it for granted," she said, adding she hopes a similar tragedy does not occur.
The Memorial Union staff plans to hold a public memorial service Jan. 20 for Passon in the union's main lounge.
Passon's close friends hope people will remember Passon for being a "great guy" and not for the one mistake that ended his life too early.
"He always made everybody laugh," Rabehl said. "He made friends wherever he went, and none of them will ever forget him."
Adding to the grief
Still mourning the loss of their friend, Passon's former roommates now face even more difficulties resulting from Passon's death. They could possibly be evicted from their apartment.
Shortly after Passon's death, the Korotev Company sent Passon's former roommates a delinquent notice informing them that if they did not pay Passon's share of the rent and the subsequent late fees by Jan. 15, they would be evicted.
After speaking with Korotev management, however, Passon's roommates said they were given "a little" more time to come up with the overdue rent.
"This is just added stress, and I don't know why we should have to deal with this right now," Rabehl said. "Thankfully, they gave us a little more time."
Rabehl said representatives from the Korotev Company told the roommates the delinquent notice was the result of a combination of Passon's death and another roommate who did not pay rent.
The Korotev Company did not return phone calls as of press time.
