Miami Police Probe Music Festival Death of Jewish College Student
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By John A. Oswald March 24, 2016
Authorities are investigating the death of a University of Miami student, who suffered a seizure at a music festival and died soon after, officials said.
The tragedy this past Friday night has left friends and family of Adam C. Levine reeling and brought new scrutiny of the annual Ultra Music Festival, one of the largest gathering of electronic dance music fans in the country.
Levine, 21, was a junior political science major and member of AEPi, a historically Jewish college fraternity. He was planning on attending dental school after graduation.
“I wish I could tell you more about what happened, but we’re trying to piece together ourselves,” Levine’s roommate and frat brother Harry Kroll told newspaper before his pal’s funeral.
“He was such a positive presence,” Kroll added. “He truly had that infectious, magnetic personality.”
Festival organizers are cooperating with the investigation, police said.
“We don’t have many details, but we can tell you that our security personnel noticed he was having difficulties and immediately called Miami Fire-Rescue to get him medical attention,” said Miami Beach Police Chief Ray Martinez. “From what we have been told, paramedics initiated medical treatment and transported him to Jackson Memorial Hospital.”
Levine is survived by parents Bruce and Laurie Levine as well as a brother and a sister. His family told his hometown paper in Reston, Virginia that Levine died of complications from a seizure.
“Truly beloved by all, Adam’s outgoing, caring personality and sense of humor was known to always make his friends smile,” Miami’s Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Whitely said in a statement. “With a remarkably joyful disposition, he enjoyed helping his fellow students.”
Tragedy has marred the festival in the past. A security guard was trampled at Ultra’s 2014 gathering and a 21-year-old young man died of a drug overdosem in his car, reports WSVN News.
There were more than five dozen arrests at this past weekend’s three-day festival, Miami New Times reports. Fifteen of those arress were for possession of the party drug MDMA. — With JTA
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