Tushar Shriram Kabre, age 28, was in fair condition at the Wexner Medical Center and no longer in the Intensive Care Unit as of Monday afternoon. Credit: Shelby Lum / Photo editor
An accidental run-in on the Olentangy Trail would end up being the last time Ohio State Ph.D. candidate Krishna Patel would see his acquaintance from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry before hearing the man was in critical condition.
Patel knew Tushar Shriram Kabre, the 28-year-old man who was pulled out of Mirror Lake Sunday. They weren’t great friends but shared a General Chemistry Learning Resource Center office hours time slot about two years ago, and the two made small talk around the department from time to time.
OSU Adminstration and Planning spokeswoman Lindsay Komlanc said in an email Kabre “received a masters of science in chemistry degree in autumn 2011” and that he is not currently enrolled at Ohio State.
Patel said Monday evening he hadn’t seen Kabre in a while before running into him Aug. 15 during an evening walk on the Olentangy Trail. It was then Kabre told him he had left the chemistry program and was returning to India. His flight, Patel said, was booked for the following day.
Just days later, Patel heard about the incident at Mirror Lake, in which Kabre was pulled from the water and taken to Wexner Medical Center in critical condition.
“It was a shock to me when I saw the news,” he said.
Kabre was in the Medical Center Intensive Care Unit at about 10:30 p.m. Monday, according to the Medical Center.
Patel said Kabre was shy but friendly. He wouldn’t often start conversations but he’d chime in every so often. Patel said Monday he planned to visit Kabre in the hospital soon.
A 911 call reporting a “person in distress in Mirror Lake” was received at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday, and other bystanders approached the OSU Public Safety Mobile Command Unit that was in the area alerting them to the situation.
Police officers and Student Safety officers jumped into Mirror Lake to pull the man from the water, according to a Sunday university release, and bystanders reported paramedics performed CPR and chest resuscitations for several minutes without any apparent reaction from Kabre.
University Police Lt. Rick Green said at about 5:30 p.m. the man had been taken to the Wexner Medical Center, and OSU Police Chief Paul Denton said Monday the “heroic actions” of officers and bystanders were “amazing.”
“It’s not every day you save a life,” Denton said. “It’s an amazing story there.”
Patel said Kabre was a student from India, like himself, and didn’t believe he had family living locally.
“I think they’re all back in India,” he said.
Attempts to locate relatives of Kabre were unsuccessful Monday evening.
Jumping in Mirror Lake before the OSU football game against the University of Michigan is a university tradition, and Denton said whether the incident will affect the jump, which is not a university sanctioned event, will not be determined by University Police.
Student Life spokesman Dave Isaacs said he was not in the position to discuss the incident Monday because the details of what took place are not yet clear. How it will affect the jump is unknown.
“Certainly the Mirror Lake jump will be discussed and if appropriate, we will reflect on the unfortunate incident of another night,” Isaacs said.
Isaacs said until the police investigation is completed it was “premature” to make any decisions.
Click here to listen to part one of the 911 call and click here to listen to part two.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: Aug. 20, 2013
An earlier version of this story Kabre said Patel was a student from India, however it was Patel who said Kabre was a student from India.
