Man dies after falling from Petersen Events Center window

A man fell through a window in the Petersen Events Center shortly after 9 p.m. today, police… Updated: 11:40 am.

The man who fell four stories through a Petersen Events Center window last night died around midnight.

Joseph Kimutis, 19, of McDonald in Fayette County, died at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital about three hours after he fell through a fourth-story window on the DeSoto Street side of the building.

City police Lt. Daniel Herrmann said 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 Wednesday night whether those reports were true.

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

Hermann said Kimutis’ father was with him in the hospital Wednesday while he underwent surgery for severe head injuries before he died. Hermann did not know whether Kimutis’ father had attended the concert with him.

At least a dozen police cruisers responded to the DeSoto Street side of the Pete 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 normal through the lobby of the Pete.

Herrmann said the incident did not halt the concert going on inside, a performance of the band “FurthUr,” which features former Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. The concert started at 7:30 p.m. and lasted until about 11 p.m.

Pitt spokesman John Fedele could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office were waiting this morning to start Kimutis’ autopsy. Police said they do not suspect foul play.