A Clemson student received minor injuries after crashing through the window of a downtown restaurant last Thursday night.

Around 9 p.m. on Thursday evening, Clemson City Police were dispatched to an incident at the Pita Pit. A man lost his balance and fell through a large window on the side of the restaurant while allegedly mooning his friends who were inside at the time.

“The offender was under the influence of alcohol and lost his balance and fell into the glass window, breaking it and cutting himself,” Patrol Officer Rory Bell said in an incident report obtained by The Tiger.

Ryan Robinson, an employee at the restaurant, was downtown eating dinner when he received a call from his roommate, who also works at the restaurant. “He’s in a panic when he calls and he says, ‘Hey guys, I hate to say this but someone just fell through the window. I can’t talk; just come here,’” Robinson said.

“[The student] didn’t really want to talk about it,” he said. “He was in our bathroom and needed to go to the hospital; he didn’t want to go to the hospital. I’m not sure he ever went, I think he was a little embarrassed by the incident.”

According to the report, the student refused EMS transport to the hospital and insisted he didn’t need to go. He was then ticketed with malicious damage to real property. The value of the window was set at $500.

Under conditions of anonymity, the student told The Tiger he tripped over the flower bed outside the window and collided with the pane, saying it didn’t break initially. The student said he was then pushed by his friend into the window, which began cracking and subsequently shattered, causing him to fall backwards into the restaurant.

His roommate, who was eating in the restaurant at the time, was the only person injured besides him. The student said a large shard of glass sliced his roommate’s upper arm, but he left after the incident to avoid getting in trouble.

The student said he heard many false versions of what happened. “My favorite one is that I was in a fight with a black guy and he [threw] me through the window,” he said. “Another one of them was that I had just finished hooking up with a girl behind Todaro’s – like a hooker – and I was trying to leave her without paying…a lot of really good stories. You can imagine my surprise hearing all these.”

The restaurant owner, Justin Kopelman, said the window broke so easily because the student was running and hit the center of the window as opposed to the side. “He told me he was running,” Kopelman said. “When you’re falling through the dead center of a seven-foot by four-foot window, only an industrial strength window could probably stop that.”

After he fell through the window and realized what happened, the student said he insisted he was pushed by one of his friends partaking in the prank. He added Clemson City Police were not respectful in their handling of the incident. “Before [Bell] even asks if I’m okay, he just threatens me with what he’s going to write me up for and how I should go to jail,” he said. “[He] at no point asked me if I was okay, at all.”

He disputed Bell’s initial charge of indecency because “someone would have to file a charge against me that they were offended, and it would have to contain frontal nudity, so, that doesn’t work.” He then disputed Bell’s charge of malicious damage of property. “‘Malicious’ in the ticket’s title implies intent, which means I would have to have an outstanding agenda against Pita Pit, which, I assure you, I don’t,” he said.

Kopelman then arrived on the scene to work out a payment plan with the student. “In my mind, I’m like, ‘Why the hell should I pay for this glass when I got pushed through it?’” he said. “[Kopelman] is a pretty reasonable guy. He worked out a deal with the cops on my behalf. We’re kind of trying to figure out a way to pay for this right now.”

The student is making a formal apology for his actions and is asking for help in replacing the window.

Next Thursday, he’s having a fundraiser at the Pita Pit. Although no official plans have been made, he said it may be a meet-and-greet and he’s considering autographing copies of The Tiger with this article.

“Anyone who thought this incident was funny or this story was great,” he said, “people are struggling to help fix this window. Any and all donations would be appreciated. Contact the owner of the Pita Pit.”

“We both wanted to get this over as fast as possible,” Kopelman said. “I’m working with him to come out with the best solution for both parties.”