Fourth Floor Fall Leaves Student 'Fair'

A freshman who fell from a fourth story Holworthy fire escape Sunday night is now in "fair condition" at Cambridge City Hospital, a hospital spokesman said yesterday.

After the accident, Marc J. Sobil '80 underwent an operation to remove a ruptured spleen. He also suffered severe cuts and bruises and bled internally, Sobil's friends said yesterday.

Sobil and his roommate were tyring to reach the next room through the fire escape when Sobil stepped through a two foot gap in the gridding, bounced off the other two fire escapes and landed in a snowbank, eyewitnesses said.

Holworthy proctor Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld '76 said yesterday he heard noises on the fire escape and looked out the window in time to see Sobil fall.

Sonnenfeld ran down to tend Sobil while several students dashed to notify the police, who in turn sent for the Cambridge Fire Rescue Squad, he said.

Keith B. Russell '80, one of the first students to reach Sobil, said yesterday Sobil was "coherent and conscious, although obviously in shock."

Sonnenfeld, who waited at the hospital overnight with Sobil's parents, praised the police and fire departments for their "efficient and thoughtful help."

He added that he was grateful that Sobil had suffered no vertebrae damage. Doctors permitted Sobil to receive visitors yesterday.

Sobil's fall is not an isolated incident; last year another freshman fell from a Gray's fire escape. The Freshman Dean's Office yesterday posted a notice in all freshman dormitories warning students to stay off fire escapes and instructing the Harvard Police to enforce this regulation