A 20-year-old Penn State student suffered serious injuries early yesterday morning after she fell from an eighth-floor balcony at Beaver Terrace apartments, 456 E. Beaver Ave, the State College Police Department said.

The woman was initially taken to Centre Community Hospital. She was then transferred to the Trauma Center at Altoona Hospital, and has since been taken to the Hershey Medical Center, where she might have underwent surgery yesterday, police said.

Police would not release her name yesterday because they had not contacted all of her family.

She fell at about 2:55 a.m., landing on her face in the rocks on the west side of the 11-story apartment building.

Police said she fell from the balcony at her apartment and they do not believe there was a party in the apartment.

State College Police Department Sgt. John Gardner said police are canvassing the building looking for anyone that might have witnessed the fall. He also said police are attempting to retrace the victim's entire day to learn what she was doing and who she was with.

"You want to be safe and explore all the angles," Gardner said. "You want to look and see if alcohol was a factor and stuff like that. You don't want to discount any possibilities."

Greg Sailor (junior-business logistics) witnessed the accident and came to the assistance of the injured woman.

"I couldn't believe it. I was so freaked out," he said.

Sailor said he was in an apartment on the floor below the balcony the victim fell from when the incident occurred.

He said the victim was completely horizontal during the fall and did not hit anything on the way down. Beaver Terrace apartments have air-conditioning units on the ground around the area where she fell.

"I sprinted down there -- I took the steps, the elevator was taking forever," Sailor said.

Sailor said that as soon as he arrived where the victim was lying, he and others flipped her on her back and turned her head to the side.

"As soon as I got to her I checked her pulse and everything," Sailor said. "She wasn't breathing consistently."

He also said the victim was bleeding when he arrived.

"She wasn't bleeding badly. A little out of her nose and mouth," he said.

"But she was bleeding enough," Sailor added.

Sailor said he and the other witnesses saw a party on the eighth floor, but the victim might have fallen from another balcony.

Associated Realty Property Management, who manages most of the units in Beaver Terrace, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident or who has any information to contact the State College Police Department at 814-234-7150.