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U Of M Student Hurt In Balcony Fall Was Also In Bad Car Crash

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The parents of a University of Minnesota student who fell from a fifth story balcony over the weekend tell WCCO he has been in a terrible accident before.

Mackenzie or "Mick" Caron, 19, was still in critical condition at Hennepin County Medical Center awaiting surgery for broken bones on Tuesday afternoon. The Minneapolis Police Department is investigating what led up to his fall, but do not suspect any foul play.

In January of 2015, Caron suffered life-threatening brain injuries after a bad car accident. His parents told WCCO Caron was in a coma for weeks and they did not know if he would survive.

His road to recovery was covered by media outlets in his home state of Wisconsin.

In just four months after the accident, the high school athlete and musician made an almost full recovery.

This past Saturday night, Caron's parents confirm he was in another bad accident. This time, he fell from a fifth-story balcony at the FloCo apartments along University Ave. SE.

Student and resident at the apartment complex Samuel Benda described what he saw Saturday night.

"Every other house was having a party and the place was really lively," Benda said.

Benda said he saw what appeared to be a man trying to jump from one balcony to another.

"All of a sudden someone screamed so we sprinted back and here we saw this kid laying down on the ground face down," Benda said.

Benda said he and some friends tried to make a perimeter around Caron and an ambulance was there in seconds.

"He was really in a bad condition but he was fighting and I have no doubt he is going to make it through," Benda said.

The Minneapolis police incident report listed several witnesses. None of them wanted to talk about what happened to Caron.

Caron's mother told WCCO by phone she appreciates peoples' concern but wants to have some private time to tend to her son's needs as he goes in for more surgeries the rest of the week.

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