Teen 'crushed to death' after falling down stairs at out-of-control party
Sophia Crestani has been identified as one of a group of students understood to have fallen down a flight of stairs at an out-of-control party which resulted in her death.
The 19-year-old University of Otago student was at a notorious party house on New Zealand’s South Island dubbed “The Manor” when she died on Saturday night.
Witnesses said the teenager, who has an identical twin sister, may have been trampled prior to her death, news.com.au reported.
About 500 to 600 students were believed to have attended the party, where a large crowd was pushed down a staircase and ended up collapsing on top of each other.
Police were called to the address five minutes before midnight (local time) on Saturday after receiving reports of a disorderly gathering and shortly after a partygoer called to request help.
“When our officers arrived there was... about 500 or 600 partygoers, a lot of them anxious, a lot of them trying to get out of the premises, a lot of them trying to get in the premises, a lot of disorganisation, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of anxiety,” Otago Coastal Area commander Inspector Marty Gray told reporters on Sunday.
“The victim was carried out of the house by other people and resuscitation attempts were made at that time.”
He added officers had not faced any resistance on arrival and party attendees were “fantastic” in their efforts to help Ms Crestani.
Another student who attended the party told the Herald Ms Crestani “may have been trampled”.
Police were yet to label the death as accidental and said it was too early to speculate on whether charges would be laid.
Ms Crestani was in her second year of study and was due to attend her final week of lectures for the year this week.
She moved to Dunedin to attend university after attending Wellington Presbyterian girls school Queen Margaret College.
The teen held a casual position working for a a sports store and had a keen interest in fashion, designing a gown displayed at the National War Memorial in 2017 for the World of WearableArt event.
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