Student bled to death after punching out window, police say By Valerie Schremp Hahn ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 04/09/2007

An 18-year-old Duchesne High School student apparently bled to death early Sunday after he got angry during a party and punched out a window at a Bridgeton hotel, police said.

Police found Clinton Elmendorf dead in a second-floor hotel room at the Red Roof Inn at Interstate 270 and St. Charles Rock Road shortly after 4 a.m.

Captain Bob Wacker with the Bridgeton police said Elmendorf was partying and playing cards in the hotel room with three male friends when he got angry and punched out the window.

He gashed his arm, locked himself in the bathroom, and wouldn’t come out despite the friend’s repeated attempts to get him to come out. They eventually left, he said.

“Apparently he was hurt a whole lot worse than anybody anticipated or had any idea,” Wacker said.

Alone in the room, Elmendorf managed to call the operator and report he was hurt. The operator contacted police, who sent an officer to the hotel. The officer found him dead in the room, Wacker said.

The event is being investigated as an accident, Wacker said. The friends he was with were “supposedly all really good kids,” Wacker said, who had no idea that Elmendorf was hurt that badly.

Submitted on 04/09/2007

Submitted by: k_joel73@excite.com
Reference: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 04/09/2007

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James said:
Definitely Toss: Lacks Excellence
Thanks for sending this in! We have several window punching incidents in our archives, and not a few are rather hilarious. Unfortunately, I find this incident a bit more pedestrian than I'd like it to be. Perhaps it's the reporting, but the way I see it, he could have just as easily punched a wall or anything else. It was also a very impulsive act, not one based on motive or bravado, and thus I am compelled to toss it, though my fellow mods may beg to differ. We DO appreciate you submission, however! Thanks again!

Jack said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
I'm not completly happy with this either, but what makes Elmendorf a contender is that he then locked himself in the bathroom and wouldn't come out until after his friends left. Only then did he call for help. Was he embarrassed? Perhaps. But he died from his stupidity at punching a window instead of a wall and then not accepting his friends' plea for him to come out.

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I like this one because, as Jack pointed out, he locked himself in the bathroom despite knowing he was seriously injured. Locking himself in the bathroom because he's mad at his friends despite the injury is Darwin quality behavior as far as I'm concerned.

Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I'll go in with Jack and Bruce on this one. Death by embarrassment is certainly unique enough and while we do see people who smash glass from time to time, to die simply because you refuse to come out while your friends are there is unique. Thanks for sending this, k-joel.