The Lane County Medical Examiner Office@@http://www.lanecounty.org/Media/News/Pages/LaneCountyMedicalExaminerProvidingaVitalService.aspx@@ announced Thursday afternoon that the cause of death for University student Jackson Lusk was positional asphyxia — meaning he could not breathe — due to heroin intoxication. The medical examiner determined it was an accident.
Lusk, who died on Jan. 16, was an honors student majoring in mathematics. Hal Sadofsky@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Hal+Sadofsky@@, head of the mathematics department, called Lusk’s death tragic and described the 21-year-old as a student who had an intense curiosity for learning.
A memorial was held for Lusk by a couple dozen friends on Jan. 27 in the math library. They shared memories and talked about Lusk’s passion for math. One student remembered Lusk as the deep voice coming from the back of the classroom who knew all the answers.
At the memorial, University junior Andrew Reiser@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Reiser@@ shared the story of when he first met Lusk in 2009. Reiser was riding his bike home one night when Lusk stopped him to ask a question about a math class they had together.
“We were solving complex analysis programs in 28-degree weather,” Reiser said.
One of Lusk’s closest friends, Angela Krause,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Angela+Krause@@ said Lusk planned on earning a Ph.D. in mathematics and conduct research.