[Clintons Are White Trash]

A CARLETON University engineering student participating in a spitting contest with friends plunged 11 floors off a downtown high-rise to his death late Saturday night. Ameer "AJ" Jinah was celebrating his 20th birthday in his 11th-floor apartment at 199 Kent St. with about a dozen friends when the accident happened at about 11 p.m.

Police said it appears Jinah took a running start to try to spit further than his two friends when he unintentionally vaulted himself over the balcony railing.

"It was purely accidental," said Ottawa police Sgt. Joe Simpson. "Momentum carried him beyond."

Police said alcohol was being consumed at the party.

Apartment building security guard Jason Armstrong, who was working Saturday night, said he heard a thud and immediately knew something was wrong.

PEOPLE SCREAMING

"Two ladies came in and started screaming for me to call 911," said Armstrong, adding a group of about eight of Jinah's emotional friends rushed to his side.

Armstrong, who had known Jinah for about eight months, said he was surprised to learn the circumstances surrounding his death.

"He was one of the smartest, most polite guys I ever met in my life," he said. "I think he was one of the classiest guys. He had a maturity beyond his age."

Armstrong said Jinah always made a point to stop and chat on his way into the building and seemed to make friends easily.

"I'm going to miss him around here," said Armstrong.

His roommate, Eric Hwang, was too distraught to comment on what happened.

Family members said Jinah was in his second year at Carleton.

Last year, Jinah acted as the first-year representative for the Carleton Student Engineering Society.

He had returned to Ottawa from Belleville, where he was visiting his family, only hours before his death, his grandfather said yesterday.

"When he got to Ottawa he called and said, 'Papa, I'm here and I'm all right,' " he said.

Family members, including Jinah's father Alnoor, travelled to Ottawa yesterday

[VRWCmember]

Police said alcohol was being consumed at the party.

Ya think???!!

[nuconvert]

OK

Darwin Award material??

[atomicpossum]

Police said alcohol was being consumed at the party.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Really?

[Krodg]

"He had a maturity beyond his age."

I don't think so.

[MJY1288]

Did he win?

[EggsAckley]

"He had a maturity beyond his age."

Oh yeah.

[Textide]

So who won the spitting contest? Journalists these days....

[TomServo]

"Momentum carried him beyond."

It's Sir Isaac Newton Day today, folks! Watch as AJ demonstrates Newton's first law of physics - and gravity!

[thoughtomator]

Moral of the story: Never spit with a running start.

[RebelBanker]

If you have a relative whose last words were, "Hold my beer and watch this!" you might be a redneck!

(With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy)

[Thinkin' Gal]

"It was purely accidental," said Ottawa police Sgt. Joe Simpson. "Momentum carried him beyond."

When I first read that, I thought it said, "Mohammed carried him beyond."

Yikes. :-/ Must have been all those numbers in the first paragraph.

[Chi-townChief]

"He was one of the smartest, most polite guys I ever met in my life," he said. "I think he was one of the classiest guys."

You can always tell the smart, polite, and classy guys in Canada by how far they can spit.

[fourdeuce82d]

...one of the smartest, most polite guys I ever met in my life," he said. "I think he was one of the classiest guys. He had a maturity beyond his age</>

No evidence...but I suspect this was one of the few times the guy had gotten drunk- sounds like a nice, polite indian kid who got drunker than he realized. my $.02

[Constitution Day]

[tdadams]

Sadly, this just proves that smart people can do stupid things sometimes, and sometimes with deadly consequences.

[Constitution Day]

"Momentum carried him beyond."

[TC Rider]

"He was one of the smartest, most polite guys I ever met in my life," he said.

"Excuse me, make way, coming through, pardon me, aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhhh!"

[highnoon]

Some sage wisdom I received as a child:

As you go through life, two rules will never bend,
Never whittle towards yourself, or pee against the wind.

Sorry about this one:

It's my party, and I'll fly if I want to......fly if I want to....

[Prodigal Son]

If you find that you have slipped off a tall building accidently and are plummeting earthward at alarming tempo- spread your arms and repeat to yourself over and over with total conviction- "I can fly, I can fly!"

It can't hurt.

[chuknospam]

The sad thing that will come from all of this, after the litigation, is all the balconys will be covered over in bars or chain link enclosures or eliminated entirely.
(Reference Dayton Beach & former spring break activity of balcony hopping.)