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Pennsylvania high school student dead after falling off cliff during state park hike
By Vandana Rambaran
Published November 12, 2019
A Pennsylvania high school student fell from a cliff and plunged to his death on Sunday while hiking at a state park.
Park troopers responded to a call about 8 a.m. concerning 17-year-old Luke DePinao. According to officials, he'd accidentally fallen off a cliff at World’s End State Park in Forksville Township, Sullivan County.
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DePinao, 17, a senior at Archbishop Carroll High, was on a camping trip with his older brother and two cousins and was walking through some underbrush toward Route 154 when he took a 35-foot fall, the park's manager, Bill Kocher, told Patriot News.
This was the first time the campers had been in the park and they were not following a trail, Kocher said.
DePinao died from a catastrophic head injury, coroner Wendy Hastings told Fox News. "While the death is still under investigation, foul play is not suspected at this time," Hastings said.
She said routine toxicology tests were being conducted. The coroner identified no medical conditions that could have contributed to the calamitous plunge.
DePinao's high school, which is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, held a prayer service on Tuesday night
“No words can express the sorrow our community feels over the passing of our student Luke DePiano. The Carroll family came together this morning in prayer for Luke, his family and all those who knew him,” school President Francis Fox told CBS 3. “We have supplemented our guidance staff with additional counselors, and we will continue to provide the necessary support for our students.
"Luke was a talented and loving young man, full of enthusiasm and promise. The entire Carroll community mourns this deep loss and extends our support to the DePiano family.”
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