Report: Steffey intoxicated at time of death

In a report released by Purdue University on Monday, an independent accident reconstruction firm determined several details surrounding the death of Purdue student Wade Steffey.\nSteffey, a Bloomington native and Bloomington High School South graduate, was found dead in a high-voltage utility closet March 19 at Purdue. His death was ruled an accidental electrocution after it was discovered he was trying to retrieve a jacket left inside his dorm. The high-voltage utility closet door he entered was unlocked and not labeled as dangerous.\nThe report concluded that Steffey was intoxicated at the time of his death, and according to the autopsy and toxicology reports, Steffey’s blood alcohol content was below the level considered lethal but above the legal limit for intoxication.\n“Effects of intoxication vary,” the report read, “but at any level above 0.08 percent body coordination difficulties, poor judgment, shortened attention span and difficulty with fine motor control are present.”\nRimkus Consulting Group Inc., who performed the investigation and released the report, was hired by Purdue attorneys Stuart & Branigin in March, according to a press release.\nIn a chronology of events in the report, Steffey arrived at a dorm room at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, where he was observed consuming alcohol by several people in the dorm. The report also states there were no witnesses who said they saw Wade Steffey consuming alcohol at the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity party on Purdue’s campus, where Steffey was last seen by friends.\nThe report then says that, when Steffey left the party, he called a friend at 12:20 a.m. and inquired as to what he was doing. But seven minutes later, Steffey called a resident of Bloomington, who stated later that Steffey wanted someone to open the front door. The caller did not recognize Steffey’s voice and assumed it was a wrong number. She later learned Steffey was her son’s friend.\nSteffey then made a call at 12:28 a.m. to a fax machine and to a resident in Ellettsville at 12:29 a.m. The resident also assumed the call was a wrong number but also later determined it was Steffey, who she had met in the past.\nThe report further states that Steffey was observed attempting to gain entry into Owen Hall, the residence hall where his body was found, at 12:30 a.m. The witness claimed that Steffey appeared to be intoxicated and refused to let him into Owen Hall. She observed Steffey for 20 minutes and saw him walking around the exit and making several telephone calls on his cell phone. The resident stated Steffey had red stains on the front of his shirt and appeared intoxicated.\nAt the same time, another female Owen Hall resident stated she also saw Steffey near the entrance of the dorm hall talking on his cell phone. She said he appeared to be intoxicated.\nIt is then believed that Steffey went around the building, where he tried to get in through the high voltage room, which was unlocked and not labeled \nas dangerous.\nThere, Steffey made contact with a 2,400-volt transformer with the tip of his left ring-finger. The point of electrocution was measured to have a diameter of 0.88 inches. The electric current entered his body and exited through his left arm and left thigh, killing him instantly.\nAccording to the report, the Indiana Electrical Code’s requirements with regard to accessing electrical vaults is that exposed, live parts such as the one with which Steffey made contact should be enclosed and accessible only by qualified personnel and behind locked doors. The report suggests those requirements were not filled, as it states, “the exterior door to the electrical vault was most probably not adequately secured.”\nThe report also states, “the campus police officer who investigated the door at Owen Hall stated that it was unlocked on the day Wade Steffey was found.”\nAccording to the report, when Steffey’s body was found, his shirt had both brown dust or dirt and a red stain on it. He was not wearing any shoes and there was a tear on the back of his shirt near his right shoulder. His belt was worn incorrectly as the back of the belt was facing forward and twisted into the belt buckle.\nSteffey’s body was shown in illustrations in the report with his left hand positioned on a transformer while his body was draped over a cable, nearly standing up.\nMorgan R. Olsen, Purdue’s executive vice president and treasurer, said Purdue now has "a complete picture of what led up to the unfortunate event.”\n“Unless new information comes to our attention, this study completes the investigation into the circumstances of Wade’s death,” Olsen said.\nA phone call to the Dale Steffey, father of Wade Steffey, was not returned by press time.