One of these incidents involved Peter Polansky who is ranked number one on Canada's junior tennis circuit. He jumped or fell from his third story hotel window at 12:30 AM. He survived the fall, but sustained serious injures.
When questioned, he told of a dream in which he saw a dark figure approaching his bed wielding a knife. His only thought was to escape. He backed to the window, and, finding it closed, kicked it out, tumbled through the opening and fell to the ground where he lay, frightened and helpless, in a pool of blood.
This sounds like a frightening nightmare or night terror that led to sleepwalking and the fall. Polansky was only 17 and had everything going his way. He had no known reason to attempt suicide. It was only a dream, put a potentially fatal one.
In another case, a bright young star in Britain's chess world, Jessie Gilbert, fell to her death from an eighth-floor hotel room near Prague. [p[Again, this young woman had everything to live for - her multiple chess honors, plans to attend university and a promising life ahead. She was 19 years of age.
Several other chess players who knew her well have spoken of her problems with sleepwalking. Did she sleepwalk to her death?
Chess was her love. She 'd been playing since the age of eight and was going to get her Women's International Title.
Sleepwalking, once thought to be a minor problem, mostly of children, has been revealing it's true colors. It can lead to terror, injury, death and even murder. If you or someone close to you is a sleepwalker, do all in your power to keep him or her safe. Move any obstacles that could cause accidents, move the bedroom to a ground floor and lock the doors at night.
Sources:
ABC News
24dash.com
