An inquest heard that a 23-year-old university student died after impaling himself on railings while he was taking a shortcut through a park.
In the early hours of May 19, Suhith Mahendra was said to have been going back from picking up food with a friend, reported Mirror. The two cut through an alleyway near a park. Then Mahendra reportedly tried to "climb or jump" over metal railings, but he impaled himself on the spikes. An inquest was told that he suffered two wounds to his abdomen. His friend carried out CPR to save his life.
Oxford Mail reported that senior coroner Darren Salter said the student was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital. But he died later that morning. A doctor verified his death at 5.25 a.m.
The inquest into the Oxford Brookes marketing student's death was opened Tuesday. Salter shared that the victim was born in July 1998 in India, and he was a student at Oxford Brookes University. He lived in halls off Hollow Way, Cowley. At the time of his death, Mahendra was studying for a Masters degree in marketing.
A spokesman for Oxford Brookes University said in a statement that it was with great sadness that "we can confirm that Suhith Mahendra died following an incident on Cuckoo Lane at the boundary with Clive Booth Student Village on May 19." The spokesman shared that their thoughts were "with his family and friends at this very difficult time," and they were supporting his family and those affected by this incident. The statement further read that students were encouraged to contact the "University’s Wellbeing Service if they need emotional support, or they can access 24/7 support from TogetherAll.”
A full inquest into the student's death will take place on Aug. 25. An inquest's purpose is to establish the identity of the person who passed away, when that person died and how the individual came by their death. One of a number of "conclusions" are typically recorded by coroners. Earlier they were called verdicts. They include road traffic accident, accidental death, suicide or a narrative conclusion where the facts surrounding a person's death may be not too clear.
