A Ferris State University Student from Grand Rapids is hospitalized after he nearly froze to death after falling into a ditch while walking home from a party.
“He was just motionless, unresponsive,” said Justin Desinger, a pharmacy student.
It was just before 8:00 am when Desinger found Nicholas Suttles in the snow in a ditch near a sidewalk, nearly frozen.
“He looked very cold, kind of stiff person laying there,” said Desinger.
He said Suttles was wearing only a t-shirt and jeans but no coat.
He feared the worst and called 911.
“He definitely didn’t look normal, like a person who wasn’t in good shape,” said Desinger. “I felt they were dead when I first saw him to be honest. He was almost blue, he was cold to the touch, he just wasn’t responsive.”
“Once they started CPR there were some signs of life and as soon as they could they got him out of that snow and started warming him up,” said Jim Eddinger, Patrolman. “The only struggle we could find was him trying to get to his feet. As we looked further into it, we saw hand prints where he was literally trying to dig his way out and couldn’t get to his feet.”
The investigation uncovered Suttles may have been spotted drinking at a party near the 300 block of Morrison and had tried to walk home at about 12:30 am to his on-campus housing when he fell into the ditch.
Police are still looking into whether charges should be filed.”I was relieved to hear the news that they were able to get a pulse again, definitely made the day a little easier,” said Desinger.
Suttles was in critical condition as of Friday evening.
