Heffelfinger's Fall at WSU

This Fall semester, a WSU student took a giant fall on night resulting in massive surgery and serious surgeries. This student is 20 year-old Chad Heffelfinger, a well-known Coug. Below are a few snippets from articles from the Daily Evergreen about the incident. Family and Friends are now donating to help with the bills and cost of recovery for Chad. If you would like to donate to his cause, visit any greek chapter house to donate to their donation cup, or local businesses such as Bob's Corner Market located in Adam's Mall.

Heffelfinger fell off of a 23-foot retaining wall on the 500 NE Kamiaken St. early Saturday September 10th, 2011 and was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital.

Pullman police responded to a report of an injury at 12:01 a.m. and found Chad Heffelfinger, general studies major, semi-conscious with face and head injuries, according to the police press release. He was found on the street below the retaining wall, which had a fence at the top of it. Alcohol was a factor in the fall, Senior Patrol Officer Scott Kirk said.

Each year, hundreds of WSU students are rushed to Pullman Regional Hospital for alcohol-related trauma or detox after a night of partying. In the past five years, hospital officials said they have seen a rise in the blood-alcohol level of patients to an average of 0.33 percent – four times greater than the legal limit for driving.

About eight to 10 of those cases each year are severe enough to be airlifted to another hospital, said Stacey Aggabao, director of the emergency department at Pullman Regional Hospital.

Many students appear to be mixing alcohol with stimulants like caffeine, Aggabao said. The stimulants allow students to continue drinking past the point where they would normally pass out.

Since Chad was released from the hospital in late September, he has been recovering at home with his family in Vancouver.

While there are still doctor appointments, CAT scans and possibly another surgery in his future, Chad said he is antsy to get back to WSU. He is majoring in education administration and hopes to become a principal one day.

Chad said the night he fell, he had been drinking. At the hospital, his blood alcohol content was measured at .24 — three times the legal limit for driving.

“This accident has really made me think about my actions with alcohol,” he said. ”I did get off lucky, I really did.”

Chad said he wants the WSU community to learn from his accident and to be safe while partying.

“I’m glad it was me instead of someone else,” he said. “If I have to be the example that other people learn from, then I will be.”



With the danger of drinking many students chose to ignore, this has been a real wake-up call to many Cougs.

Composed By: Shannon Baker