Greek Row mourns 19-year-old's death after UW frat-house fall

A 19-year-old University of Washington student died yesterday after falling 30 feet from a deck at his fraternity house.

Witnesses told police Brett Jensen had been drinking but that he seemed under control a few minutes before he fell from the Pi Kappa Phi house about 1:15 a.m. Police said he hit a car and then fell to the pavement.

He was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he died shortly before 2 a.m.

A toxicology report will not be available for several weeks, the King County Medical Examiner's Office said.

Jensen, valedictorian last year at Everett's Cascade High School, began his studies at the UW last fall and already had accumulated enough credits to be a sophomore.

He had a 4.0 grade-point average all through high school and was class president every year since the seventh grade, according to the Everett School District.

"He was a special kid," said Steve Uberti, a neighbor and friend of the family.

"He was so bright, and at the same time he was just an ordinary kid. We watched him grow up and were looking forward to seeing where he was headed."

Jensen's father, Don, is a counselor at Cascade High School, and his mother, Janice, is a teacher at Eisenhower Middle School in Everett.

On Greek Row yesterday, members of Jensen's fraternity stood in silence before the building's classic white columns. One fraternity member who was crying said he had just found in his mailbox a birthday card Jensen had left for him.

Fraternity President Casey Goelzer said, "We are all grieving for our brother, and our thoughts and prayers are with Brett's family."

Goelzer would not comment on the circumstances surrounding Jensen's fall. But the fraternity's national headquarters said there was no party or social event at the fraternity Monday night.

"We do not allow under-age drinking, and we expect members to follow the law," said Stephen Whitby, Assistant Executive Director of Pi Kappa Phi, from the fraternity's national headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.

Whitby said the Seattle chapter was assisting in the police investigation.

The fraternity had participated in an educational program on drinking and personal responsibility in February, he said.

Jensen's death cast a pall over Greek Week celebrations on campus this week.

Abby Rogers, vice president of the University's Panhellenic organization said the celebration is meant to bring fraternity and sorority members together as well as highlight the philanthropic side of Greek life. Fraternities and sororities compete in donating blood, collecting canned food, and raising money for charitable organizations.

Jensen's death, she said, was unrelated to Greek Week activities.

There have been several similar falls at the university. Among them: Last year, a student died after falling from a dormitory balcony. In 1996, a UW fraternity member was paralyzed after a fall from a third-floor window at his fraternity house.

In 1987, two UW students fell to their deaths, one at a fraternity house and the other at a dormitory.

Lynn Thompson can be reached at 206-464-2922 or lthompson@seattletimes.com.