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Man pulled from Mirror Lake during traditional jump at Ohio State dies, identified

Posted at 6:53 AM, Nov 25, 2015
and last updated 2017-11-28 16:15:05-05

The man who died in an Ohio State University's Mirror Lake incident early Wednesday has been identified, according to the president of OSU.

The victim was identified as Austin Singletary, a third-year student from Dayton, Ohio.

Ohio State University officials said Singletary was pulled from the lake by medical personnel just after midnight.

According to our ABC affiliate in Columbus, Singletary was in cardiac arrest when he was rescued. 

Emergency crews transported him to Wexner Medical Center for treatment where he was later pronounced dead.

Before authorities were able to properly identify Singletary, he was described as being an African American of medium build with tattoos on his left upper chest and right upper arm.

Temperatures in Columbus were in the 30s overnight as hundreds of students took part in the tradition of jumping in the lake.

The event is not sponsored by the school and administrators even discourage students from taking part. 

A note on the university's department of public safety website reads:

Alcohol increases the chances of hypothermia in cold temperatures and jumping in Mirror Lake is not advised, nor encouraged in any way.

Fences were installed around the lake to limit the area to students only. Students also had to be wearing a wristband to gain access.