Pipestone Man Dies In Chicago Hotel Fall
by KDLT News
December 13, 2012 2:51 PM
A Pipestone, Minn. native has died after falling down the chimney shaft of a hotel in a Chicago.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirms that 23-year-old Nicholas Wieme was pronounced dead from injuries sustained in the fall.
Authorities were called to the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago overnight after reports of a possible suicide. Once on the scene, they realized Wieme had become stuck after climbing a ladder along a smokestack to the top of the hotel.
Firefighters say Wieme went onto the hotel roof to take photos.
Wieme fell some 22 feet down the chimney and was conscious when firefighters and paramedics arrived at the scene. A Chicago fire chief says crews went two floors below where Wieme was stuck and cut away duct work so they could slide him out.
Wieme was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition but later died as a result of his injuries.
