-- The 40-year-old son of former ABC anchor Ted Koppel was on a daylong alcohol binge before he died at a New York City apartment, his drinking partner says.
After drinking straight whiskey during a pub crawl, Andrew Koppel, a former New York City Housing Authority lawyer, arrived at a run-down apartment in Manhattan's Washington Heights section, where he soon passed out and stopped breathing, witnesses said. Police said they found him dead in a bedroom at 1:30 a.m. Monday.
The New York Post reports that Koppel, whose 70-year-old father was the longtime anchor of "Nightline," was brought to the apartment Sunday night by 32-year-old Russell Wimberly, a waiter he met at a bar in Hell's Kitchen earlier in the day.
"He had a straw hat on, and I had one on, and he said, 'Nice hat, man,' " Wimberly told the Post. "We got to talking, and he started buying me drinks."
A resident of the apartment said Koppel was visibly intoxicated when he entered.
Koppel "was just really messed up when he came in," Belinda Caban told the Post. "He was very drunk."
Later, Caban said, she told Wimberly to call the police after Koppel stopped breathing while in bed.
"His complexion wasn't right. It was pale. I said to call the police," Caban said. "When the ambulance came, they said he was dead."
Police told AOL News today that they are awaiting tests from the medical examiner to determine the cause of death. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, said the tests would take about two weeks to complete.
But questions remain about what compelled Koppel, who lived with his girlfriend and baby daughter in Queens, to go on a daylong drinking binge that may have lead to his death.
Wimberly told the Post that he and Koppel talked about their kids while they drank.
"There was a lot of alcohol. ... He said he had a kid and loved [her] a lot," " Wimberly said.
An official of the city Housing Authority told AOL News that Koppel was earning $78,000 when he resigned from the Civil Litigation Division in 2008.
In 1993, when he was a student at Georgetown Law School, Koppel was convicted of misdemeanor assault on a Senate aide and forced to undergo treatment for alcohol abuse.
Andrew was the only son of Ted and Grace Anne Koppel. The couple has three daughters, including Andrea, a former CNN correspondent.
After drinking straight whiskey during a pub crawl, Andrew Koppel, a former New York City Housing Authority lawyer, arrived at a run-down apartment in Manhattan's Washington Heights section, where he soon passed out and stopped breathing, witnesses said. Police said they found him dead in a bedroom at 1:30 a.m. Monday.
The New York Post reports that Koppel, whose 70-year-old father was the longtime anchor of "Nightline," was brought to the apartment Sunday night by 32-year-old Russell Wimberly, a waiter he met at a bar in Hell's Kitchen earlier in the day.
"He had a straw hat on, and I had one on, and he said, 'Nice hat, man,' " Wimberly told the Post. "We got to talking, and he started buying me drinks."
A resident of the apartment said Koppel was visibly intoxicated when he entered.
Koppel "was just really messed up when he came in," Belinda Caban told the Post. "He was very drunk."
Later, Caban said, she told Wimberly to call the police after Koppel stopped breathing while in bed.
"His complexion wasn't right. It was pale. I said to call the police," Caban said. "When the ambulance came, they said he was dead."
Police told AOL News today that they are awaiting tests from the medical examiner to determine the cause of death. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, said the tests would take about two weeks to complete.
But questions remain about what compelled Koppel, who lived with his girlfriend and baby daughter in Queens, to go on a daylong drinking binge that may have lead to his death.
Wimberly told the Post that he and Koppel talked about their kids while they drank.
"There was a lot of alcohol. ... He said he had a kid and loved [her] a lot," " Wimberly said.
An official of the city Housing Authority told AOL News that Koppel was earning $78,000 when he resigned from the Civil Litigation Division in 2008.
In 1993, when he was a student at Georgetown Law School, Koppel was convicted of misdemeanor assault on a Senate aide and forced to undergo treatment for alcohol abuse.
Andrew was the only son of Ted and Grace Anne Koppel. The couple has three daughters, including Andrea, a former CNN correspondent.
