Death of 19-Year-Old Spring Breaker Highlights Dangers of Hotel Balconies

Hotel balconies are dangers hiding out right in the open for spring breakers.

The death of a 19-year-old student who fell from his hotel balcony in Mexico has brought renewed attention to the dangers vacationers can face in plain sight.

Ahmed Altaii of Michigan was in Cancun with his girlfriend when he fell from the balcony of his seventh-floor room Friday night at the GR Solaris Cancun Hotel, the Yucatan Times reported. His girlfriend reportedly told police Altaii has been drinking earlier in the day.

It was the first death associated with the annual trek of spring breakers, the Yucatan Times reported.

Hotel balconies are dangers hiding out right in the open for spring breakers. Students are injured or die every year after falling from the porches.

In 2018, Inside Edition's Chief Investigative Correspondent Lisa Guerrero found a lot of binge drinking on balconies during such trips. Though she spoke to people who recognized the dangers of playing around on balconies, she also witnessed partiers standing on top of railings, tables and chairs.

Altaii's death is under investigation, and an autopsy and toxicology report will be conducted.

A vigil was held Sunday night in his hometown in Michigan for friends and family. About 50 people attended, including Altaii's girlfriend, Heidi Newman, the Detroit Free Press reported.

"I miss him so much," Newman said. "We were so happy. He was the love of my life. I wish he was here right now, we all do."

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