Man dies after fall from Petersen Events Center

The man who fell four stories through a Petersen Events Center window during a concert… Updated: 12:50 a.m. FridayThe man who fell four stories through a Petersen Events Center window during a concert Wednesday night died early Thursday morning.

Joseph Kimutis, a 19-year-old man from McDonald, Pa., died shortly after midnight yesterday, three hours after falling through a fourth-story window, according to the Allegheny County medical examiner.

Kimutis fell through a window above the Events Center’s ticket office in front of DeSoto Street, across from the University’s Scaife Hall. He had been attending a concert by the group Furthur, which features two former Grateful Dead member.

City police Lt. Daniel Herrmann said Wednesday that some witnesses told him they saw Kimutis go into a football stance and say “hike” before running through the window shortly after 9 p.m. He could not say whether those reports were true.

Some people posted differing accounts on Furthur’s website.

One user, Kryskros, posted that Kimutis windmilled his arms and pumped his legs before diving through the window.

“All of this crap about getting into a three point stance and saying ‘hike’ NEVER HAPPENED…He did not say anything,” Kryskros said.

Herrmann said that it was too soon to say whether Kimutis was under the influence of alcohol or any other drugs. He said that Kimutis must have “crashed” into the window, as the glass panes he fell through were at least an inch thick.

Doctors hadn’t started Kimutis’ autopsy by 6 p.m. Thursday, and according to the medical examiner, the waiting period for toxicology tests results can vary, depending on the autopsy.

Kimutis attended Slippery Rock University last semester and withdrew in late December, Slippery Rock spokesman Karl Schwab said.

William Slater II Funeral Services will handle any ceremonies, although none have been scheduled yet.

Susan Kimutis, Joseph Kimutis’ mother, declined comment when reached at the family’s McDonald home, saying that the family was “grieving in private.”

Herrmann said that Kimutis’ father, John Kimutis, was with him in the hospital Wednesday night. Herrmann did not know whether John Kimutis had attended the concert with his son.

Kimutis was transported to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in critical condition after he fell at around 9 p.m., police said.

At least a dozen police cruisers responded to the DeSoto Street side of the events center around 9 p.m.

Investigators took over the scene by 10 p.m., taking pictures of two white shoes that sat in the taped-off area in front of the ticket office on the DeSoto side.

Directly above the restricted area, more officers took pictures and measurements of a broken window pane. While they worked, traffic flowed as usual through the lobby of the Pete.

Herrmann said the incident did not halt the concert going on inside. The concert started at 7:30 p.m. and lasted until about 11 p.m.

By yesterday afternoon, the window had been covered by a piece of plywood and blocked by a metal barrier, similar to the ones used to direct lines in the Petersen Events Center.

Pitt spokesman John Fedele said that Facilities Management will replace the broken window today, and that the incident was not the kind that the University could foresee.

Fedele referred other questions to city police.