Watch CBS News

Grief Counselors At School After Teacher Dies

UPDATED 11/1/10 8:44 a.m.

CHICAGO (CBS) - Grief counselors will be on hand at a Far Southeast Side elementary school Monday morning, helping students cope with the loss of a special education teacher.

Megan Duskey, 23, fell four stories over a staircase at the Palmer House Hilton during a Halloween party Saturday night.

Duskey's friends said she apparently lost her balance trying to slide down the banister of a curved stairwell on the mezzanine level. She fell all the way to the basement level at 10:30 p.m.

An autopsy on Sunday found that she died of multiple injuries from the fall and her death was ruled an accident, according to the medical examiner's office.

Police say alcohol didn't appear to be a factor.

LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Michele Fiore Reports

Podcast

A graduate of Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Duskey graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2009 with a degree in early childhood education and early childhood special education, family friend Rita Miotti said in a statement released by Duskey's family.

Her death was "a tragic loss," Miotti said.

Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond said Dusley was an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher at Orville T. Bright School, 10500 S. Torrence Ave.

Bond said crisis counselors will be at the school on Monday.

In a statement, Duskey's family said, "She was a caring, energetic person who was full of life and eager to help others and make a difference in the world."

The hotel, at 17 E. Monroe St., was hosting a party called the Haunted Hotel Ball. Duskey was dressed in the yellow and black costume of the comic book superhero the Silver Spectre when she died, authorities said.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.