July 2, 2007

Independent review of Purdue student's death completed

The Rimkus Consulting Group Inc., which specializes in accident reconstruction and was hired in March by attorneys representing the university, has delivered its final report to Purdue. The report concluded that:

* The electrical vault in which Steffey died and the equipment in the room were in compliance with applicable codes and regulations.

* Steffey entered the vault - located inside Owen Hall, a student residence hall - by climbing over or through a railing and going through an exterior door located about four feet below ground level. The configuration of the exterior entrance to the electrical vault was obviously not intended for access to the building by residents or the public. The door, which was intended only for maintenance purposes, either was unlocked or not securely latched. The Indiana Electrical Code requires that the door be locked.

* At the time of his death, Steffey's blood alcohol content was above .08, exceeding the state's legal definition of intoxication for  a driver, but below the level considered lethal, according to a separate toxicology report performed for the Tippecanoe County Coroner's office.

* Prior to his death, Steffey had climbed over or crawled under a cable inside the vault and positioned himself in a narrow space between a transformer and the wall of the vault where his body was found on March 19. Steffey was electrocuted when he inserted a finger on his left hand into a 0.88-inch hole into a recessed exposed conductor within a bushing attached to the transformer. Because of the location, his body was not seen when the room was visually inspected during a search of the entire campus.

Several law enforcement agencies have conducted an extensive investigation into the incident.

Morgan R. Olsen, Purdue's executive vice president and treasurer, said: "We now have a more complete picture of what led up to this unfortunate event. We may never know, however, exactly what happened or what motivated Wade Steffey to enter the electrical vault.

"Unless new information comes to our attention, this study completes the investigation into the circumstances of Wade's death. However, we have gained some insight that may help in the future. We've tested all vault locks to be sure they are latched and will continue to do so.

"Personally, and on behalf of the university community, I offer sincere condolences to the Steffey family and to Wade's many friends for the loss they have suffered.

"I thank the many people who volunteered to search for Wade, many of them Purdue employees and students, as well as citizens of the Greater Lafayette area and the Bloomington community where the Steffeys live. Some of these people also raised money for a reward fund.

"I also thank the many investigators and police officers, here at Purdue and elsewhere, who worked long hours to find this young man, as well as journalists who kept the search for Wade in front of the public, encouraging everyone to keep looking.

"We all have felt this loss very deeply."

According to the Rimkus report:

Steffey entered the Owen Hall electrical vault through an exterior door located at the bottom of a pit on the building's north side. Although it was obvious that the door was not intended for public access, the surrounding concrete enclosure and metal railing did not prevent Steffey from gaining access.

Rimkus' investigation verified that Steffey could not have forced the door open if the latch had been properly engaged. Maintenance records showed that the door was locked on Nov. 10, 2006. However, proper latching of the door was not verified at that time. Rimkus' tests of the Owen Hall door and of doors with similar mechanisms on two other buildings showed that it was possible for a door to be locked without the latch being fully engaged. The Rimkus report states: "If the door was locked, but the bolt was not fully engaged in the strike, force could have been used to defeat the hardware set."

The Owen vault exterior door was found to be unlocked after Steffey's body was found on March 19, but if Steffey had forced it open in January he could have unlocked it by normal twisting of the interior knob, Rimkus stated.

Steffey attended a party in an Owen Hall room in the men's living area at about 8:30 p.m. Jan. 12, where witnesses reported he consumed alcohol. Later that night, he walked to the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity house to attend a party. He left the fraternity at about midnight Jan. 13. During an 11-minute period, beginning at 12:20 a.m., he made six calls on his cell phone, including one to a fax machine and two to people in other cities who believed they were called by mistake. Two witnesses reported seeing someone they believed to be Steffey near Owen Hall at about 12:30 a.m. One reported he attempted to gain entry to the women's side of the hall. Both witnesses said Steffey appeared to be intoxicated.

Steffey was reported missing on Jan. 16, and an extensive search and investigation failed to locate him. His body was found in the electrical vault March 19 by a university employee who was investigating a report of an unusual odor.

A copy of the full report is available online at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/x/2007b/070702RimkusFinal.pdf

Contact: Jeanne Norberg, Purdue University spokesperson, (765) 494-2084, jnorberg@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

To the News Service home page