Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Police: Psychedelic Mushrooms Played Role In NYU Student's Fatal Fall
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 28, 2014
Modified Jan 28, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 28, 2014
Modified Jan 28, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The NYU student who fell 15 stories to his death
from the Third North Residence Hall early Monday morning may have have been under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Police sources tell The Post and DNAinfo that 18-year-old Titan Lee-Hai took the mushrooms with his roommate, and "now police are looking into whether there was something wrong with the drugs."
A fellow student who lived in the dorm said yesterday that Lee-Hai punched him in the face and urinated on the floor when he saw him enter an elevator at around 3 a.m. "He was naked when he walked in, so it was pretty obvious he was not in his senses," the student said.
Lee-Hai then apparently triggered the fire alarm when stepping onto the roof, and fell down into the building's courtyard. The freshman liberal studies major hailed from Trinidad, and was an aspiring rapper.
In November, 19-year-old NYU student Asher Vongtau fell from his dorm's fire escape into a tiny space between two buildings, where he was trapped for 36 hours. Vongtau, who miraculously survived, told authorities that he had been drinking the night of his fall.
Tagged
drugs
east village
NYU
titan lee-hai
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
Prosecutors say the 22-year-old damaged property outside the Fresh Meadows shop twice in May.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 6:07 p.m. ET
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
News
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial
By
David Brand
Mamdani launches new team to help NYers keep SNAP, Medicaid benefits
By
Caroline Lewis
Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .