Illinois man killed in Panama City spring break balcony leap

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. - A man who had been drinking died after landing on his head while trying to jump from a second-floor balcony, police said. <br> <br> The death Sunday of Brandon J. Schlosser, 28, of Versailles, Ill., came during spring break but the victim was not a college student. He was a truck driver for Sharkey Transportation in Quincy, Ill. <br> <br> Schlosser apparently leaped from the Ramada Inn balcony while trying to talk to women in the parking lot below, but he lost his balance as he cleared the rail, hitting his head instead of landing feet-first, police said. <br> <br> &#34;You get brave when you get alcohol in you,&#34; said Deputy Police Chief David Humphreys. &#34;You can go from having the best time of your life to having a terrible tragedy in a matter of seconds.&#34; <br> <br> Schlosser was taken to Bay Medical Center in nearby Panama City, where he died about five hours later, Humphreys said. <br> <br> &#34;Unfortunately, we cannot protect people from their own choices,&#34; said hotel spokeswoman Julie Hilton. &#34;I hope it reminds everyone that they have to act responsibly. We will continue to encourage safe fun.&#34; <br> <br> The last spring break death from a balcony fall in Panama City Beach was two years ago. Andrew Guglielmi, 19, of Findlay, Ohio, fell three stories at the Howard Johnson&#39;s Boardwalk Beach Resort. He was leaning over a rail and lost his balance. <br> <br> His father, Frank Guglielmi, joined the American Medical Association last week in criticizing spring break promotions that feature easy access to alcohol. He said his son, although underage, had been drinking before he fell. <br> <br> Last year, Stephen Larsen, 20, of Clermont, died during spring break in Daytona Beach, another Florida spring break hot spot, when he fell from a fifth-story balcony at the Fountain Beach Resort. A hospital test showed he had only a .03 percent blood-alcohol level. The legal limit for driving is .08 percent. <br> <br> Students often congregate on balconies in large numbers, Humphreys said. <br> <br> &#34;We try to break them up because too many things can happen,&#34; he said. &#34;Everything we do revolves around safety, but when you&#39;re looking at 70,000 visitors, it&#39;s hard to baby-sit them all.&#34; <br> <br>

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