Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

College student dies of flu before emergency rescuers find him

Emergency responders could not find student after being called 

Thursday 20 February 2020 16:22 EST
Comments
US 'affluenza teen' jailed for probation violation

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A college student was found dead in his home of the flu after a garbled 911 call left rescuers with no means of locating him, authorities said.

Police and firefighters in Troy, New York, spent 45 minutes on Feb. 10 searching the City Station apartment complex where Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate student Yeming Shen lived and left without finding him. Nearly six hours later, his roommate arrived to find him dead from the flu.

An autopsy determined the student had influenza A, officials said.

Emergency dispatch systems struggle to deliver the precise location of cellphone users a quarter-century after the devices became commonplace, the Times Union reports.

The system was able to provide a general location of Sixth Avenue, which included two five-story apartment buildings.

Five officers, three firefighters and a police dog searched the common areas on each floor but only had his cellphone number to go on and could not locate his apartment, authorities said.

Associated Press

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in