Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
EDITOR’S NOTE: The spelling of a source’s name has been corrected.
A man who fell over a railing at Harpo’s bar in downtown Columbia was a former University of Missouri student and a 2023 graduate of Chilicothe High School.
As of 7:30 pm Monday, MU Health said that Corbin Rodenberg, 21, was in critical condition in a hospital, his mother, Kaley Rodenberg, wrote in a Facebook post. MU Health Care confirmed he was in critical condition as of Monday evening. Rodenberg wrote that doctors had to relieve pressure on Corbin’s brain and that he had multiple skull fractures and a broken pelvis.
ABC 17 News reached out to Harpo’s Bar & Grill, Jamie Varvaro said in a statement to ABC 17 News, “The most important and only comment we have to make at this time is that we join our entire community as our hearts go out to the young man for his recovery.”
“Our thoughts are with former Mizzou student Corbin Rodenberg and his family,” the university said in a statement to ABC 17 News.
Corbin Rodenberg fell from the rooftop bar at Harpo’s at about 9 p.m. Sunday, leading police to block off the street outside.
Witness describes fall
Andrew Stapf, a Columbia College student, was at Harpo’s Sunday night with some of his lacrosse teammates to support a teammate who was working as the DJ.
Stapf said he was standing about five feet from Rodenberg and had seen him sitting on a railing on the rooftop earlier in the night. He also claims security had previously approached Rodenberg and asked him to get off the railing.
After the fall, Stapf said the scene quickly became chaotic as first responders rushed to help.
“I saw lights and heard sirens and I looked back over, and I saw them doing whatever they could, the first people on the scene. It was really graphic. I got a glimpse of it, and I can like picture what I saw perfectly in my head, even though I only glimpsed at it. Then I made my way downstairs with a police officer and then who I presume to be three friends of the person who fell,” Stapf told ABC 17 News.
After Rodenberg fell, Stapf said police later asked whether he had seen any violence or an altercation leading up to the fall. He said he did not.
He also described the reaction from people who witnessed what happened, saying some were visibly shaken while leaving the rooftop.
“I saw people like dry heaving, crying and then they were running away. And then people got curious, they saw and then they started leaving. Security came, and I can remember the look on the security guy’s face. I mean, he probably was a freshman who just got here, he didn’t know what to do,” Stapf said.
Stapf said word of the incident spread slowly through the bar, with some people downstairs unaware of what had happened even after police arrived.
“By the time the cops got there, the bartenders were still pouring because they didn’t even know what had happened. I would say if I was to give a timeline, within 10 minutes of it happening, Skybar was completely empty, and I had gone downstairs, and there were still people downstairs who didn’t know what had happened,” Stapf said.
The experience, Stapf said, is something he is still processing and could change how he feels about returning to Harpo’s.
“I don’t know if I would be able to enjoy it the same way just because of the incident attached to my memory of what had happened,” Stapf said.
Rodenberg’s background
Chilicothe School District Superintendent Dan Wiebers confirmed Rodenberg graduated from high school in 2023.
“Our entire district staff and school community are keeping Corbin and his family in our thoughts during this difficult time,” Wiebers wrote in response to an email from ABC 17 News.
Elmedin Karamobic, a student at the university, told ABC 17 News he heard about the incident through his housing’s Resident Assistant.
“She sent a text, stating that there was an incident at Harpo’s and if anybody needed any sort of, like, help, or help comprehending the situation, that they’re an available resource,” Karamobic said.
According to Karamobic, the university has not sent out anything regarding the incident.
Soham Maheshwari, a first-year student at the university, said he thinks the university should be telling the students to be careful. When Maheshwari was asked how he felt about this incident happening in his first week here, he said it was concerning.
ABC 17 reached out to Stephens College, located in Columbia.
“Stephens College will not provide a statement or participate in an interview, as there is no affiliation between the College and the injured individual or establishment,” a Stephens spokesperson wrote.
ABC 17 reached out to Columbia College but did not receive a response.
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