Contact CU Independent Breaking News Reporter Jake Mauff at jacob.mauff@colorado.edu
The coroner’s report on a University of Colorado student says alcohol and drugs played a factor in his death. The drugs found at the scene were sent to a type of Commercial Drug Lab Testing facility to be identified. Non-degree continuing education student Jannik Andersen, 23, was killed April 11 when he was struck by a train. A toxicology test conducted found that Andersen had cocaine, marijuana and alcohol in his system.
“Drugs and alcohol in combination with heat, dehydration and exhaustion could contribute to erratic, irrational, delusional behavior or hallucinations,” one forensic pathologist said in the subsequent report.
Andersen, who was originally from San Diego, was attending the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival when he died. His death has been ruled an accident and not a suicide. The coroner’s office came to that conclusion “based on statements from friends and family members, the lack of any history of mental illness, suicidal ideations or previous suicide attempts and the toxicology results.”
According to reports, Andersen showed no unusual signs of behavior and seemed to be in good spirits until he “ran off” from his friends around 2:30 p.m on April 10.
At 3:05 a.m. that night, approximately 12 hours after he had run off, the train engineers saw Andersen lying on his back on the tracks. They blew the emergency whistle several times, but Andersen never got up. According to the report, he looked up at the train three or four times, but did not move.
The engineers pulled the train’s emergency brakes, but were not able to stop the train. Andersen was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:42 a.m.
