Pitt student, 21, dies after falling from building in Oakland

PITTSBURGH — A 21-year-old University of Pittsburgh student died Friday night after he fell about 20 feet from a building in the city’s Oakland neighborhood, officials said.

Colin Montesano, of Penfield, New York, fell off the roof of a duplex on Meyran Avenue around 8:45 p.m., police said.

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Neighbors said Montesano fell into an alley between two apartments. He was unconscious and taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in critical condition and died about 10 p.m., the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Saturday morning.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed on Sunday that the fall was an accident.

The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and trunk.

Colin Montesano

Students said there were parties happening in several neighborhoods because it was the last day of classes before finals week.

A woman who lives next door said she was inside when she heard people screaming. She and her roommate, who is a nursing major, rushed outside.

"We just heard people screaming, 'Help, help,' so I ran out the door really quick and they were, like, 'Call 911," Gianna Fonzi, a Pitt senior, said. "(I) called 911 and my roommate came down and she went over (and) made sure he had a pulse and he did at the time, and he was breathing but not conscious."

Students said their thoughts and prayers are with Montesano's family.

Montesano's roommate said this is a very difficult time and asked for privacy. The University of Pittsburgh has offered grief counseling and released the following statement:

"The University community is saddened by the death of our student, Colin Montesano. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends, and all who knew him."

Cox Media Group