A woman who was last enrolled at UCLA fall 2005 was severely
injured in a fall from a seventh-floor window in Chicago on
Wednesday and remained in critical condition at a hospital there
Thursday. Her name was not released.
The woman had been released from Chicago police custody Monday
evening after being held for over a day on trespassing charges, the
Chicago Tribune reported.
She was found after the fall Wednesday in only her underwear at
the base of the Robert Taylor Homes building, Chicago Police
Superintendent Philip Cline told The Tribune.
Chicago Police Department Deputy Director Patrick Camden
confirmed that the woman was still in critical condition Thursday
afternoon at Stroger Hospital in Chicago, though she has not spoken
to police yet about details surrounding the incident.
Phil Hampton, a UCLA spokesman, confirmed the woman was at one
point a UCLA student. Nancy Greenstein, director of Police
Community Services at the UCLA Police Department, said the woman
was last enrolled fall quarter 2005, after which she withdrew from
the university.
Cline told The Tribune an internal affairs investigation had
been launched by Chicago police to evaluate the officers handling
the case. He said this was done to verify that police acted
properly in response to information received prior to her release
regarding her mental health.
Neither Hampton nor Greenstein had more details regarding the
case or their involvement in the current investigation.
Camden said the investigation of the incident is ongoing and no
details about the case were being made public.
He neither confirmed nor denied any information reported by The
Tribune, which used an unnamed source for a majority of its
report.
Cline also told The Tribune the investigation was evaluating
whether the woman was sexually assaulted prior to the fall and if
she fell by accident or was pushed.
Authorities are currently searching for a gang member who
witnesses said was the last person to be seen with her before the
incident.
“We’re trying to find out exactly what
happened,” he said.
He added that it was “hard to tell” how long the
investigation would take.
Hampton said UCLA learned of the incident late Wednesday when
journalists contacted the university to seek out information
regarding the woman, who they had reason to believe was involved
with the university.
He said they were also contacted by journalists Thursday.