A manwho fell and hit his head behind a Court Street bar was pronounced dead at O'Bleness Memorial Hospital early this morning. Ohio University officials said he was not an OU student.
William Patrick Thomas, 23, of Gahanna, Ohio was found bleeding from the head in the back stairwell of The Over Hang, 63 N. Court St., according to a release from the Athens Police Department.
Police responded at around 1:15 a.m. and when they arrived, found Thomas was in cardiac arrest. Police performed CPR until Athens County EMS arrived, according to the release.
OU Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones said in a tweet that "the man who died last night in Athens, was NOT a student. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family."
Hall-Jones told The Post that she spoke with APD Chief Tom Pyle about the matter.
"We have a really fabulous relationship with Athens Police, and if there's anything life threatening and they know it's a student, they always call us, and they hadn't," Hall-Jones said. "If there are OU students impacted, I would love it if they reached out to us...so that way we could provide that support."
Athens County Coroner Harold Thompson has requested an autopsy, and does not suspect foul play at this time, according to the release.
Police were unable to give additional comment at this time.
This is a developing story, stick with The Post and @ThePostLocal for the latest updates.
