A 19-year-old college student with a rare congenital steroid deficiency collapsed and died early Saturday after a night of partying with friends in the East Village, officials and her family said.
Police said Jocelyn Pascucci of East Meadow, Long Island, was found stumbling along E. 12th St. near Third Ave. with just one shoe on at 4:59 a.m.
A doorman at the Zachary Condominiums let Pascucci in, and she collapsed in the lobby. She later died at Beth Israel Hospital, officials said.
Pascucci’s parents said they called their only child’s cell phone when they didn’t hear from her by 3 a.m. The doorman, who gave his name as Angel, told them their daughter was in bad shape.
“She was disoriented and slurring. We thought she was drunk,” dad Richard Pascucci said through tears. “We thought we were going to pick her up, take her home and yell at her tomorrow morning. But by the time we got there, the fire department was there doing CPR on her in the foyer.”
Police sources said Pascucci, a sophomore studying marine biology at SUNY Stony Brook, didn’t appear injured and believed her death may have been a combination of her medical condition — adrenal hydroplasia — and what she ingested over the course of the evening. Pascucci’s condition, which could leave her severely dehydrated, required her to take daily medication. An autopsy is scheduled for Sunday.
Richard Pascucci heard rumors concerning Ecstasy, but he did not believe the East Meadow High School grad would join in.
“Because of her health problems, I don’t think she would take that risk,” he said. “But I don’t know. Kids are kids.”
Jocelyn and her friends spent the first part of the evening at a concert at Webster Hall, family members said. They hit a few bars afterward, but she soon got separated from her group.
Her last stop was a bar just down the block from where she collapsed, police sources said.
Richard Pascucci said he and his wife had just driven to Stony Brook to help their daughter with laundry.
“We made cookies for her and brought them to her for Valentine’s Day,” he said. “We always used to go fishing. I’m going to miss that.”
Residents at the Zachary were shocked over the beautiful young woman’s death.
“I can’t believe that,” said one resident in her 30s. “Nothing like that has ever happened here.”
By Kerry Wills , Thomas Tracy AND Denis Slattery / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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