CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) — The Champaign County Coroner has ruled on the death of an 18-year-old University of Illinois student.
Akul Dhawan was found dead outside a campus building around 10 hours after being reported missing by his friend. Emergency responders attempted to provide medical attention but Dhawan was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy was performed on Tuesday, Jan. 23, that confirmed his death was due to hypothermia. The coroner reported that acute alcohol intoxication and prolonged exposure to extremely cold temperatures, significantly contributed to his death. Champaign County Coroner Stephen E. Thuney ruled the death accidental.
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In a timeline released by the University of Illinois Police Department, a friend of Dhawan's reported his concern around 1:23 a.m. on Jan. 20. The friend could not locate Dhawan and had last spoke with him around an hour before.
The department said that UIPD officers made several checks around campus, calls to local hospitals, and investigated whether he had swiped his student ID card. It was not until around 11 a.m. the next morning that Dhawan was spotted by a university employee exiting Bevier Hall.
Dhawan's father Ish Dhawan spoke to NBC News, “It is so unimaginable that a kid can die in this day and age right on the university campus.”
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