State police identify drowning victim as 13-year-old boy from Allegheny County

Jul. 14—HOLLSOPPLE, Pa. — Pennsylvania State Police in Somerset on Friday identified the victim of Thursday's drowning at a Stonycreek River put-in as a 13-year-old boy from Coraopolis, Allegheny County.

The boy was a member of an inner tubing party on a tour of the Stonycreek River led by Coal Tubin', a whitewater rafting business operating in Johnstown since 2009.

"We are heartbroken and devastated," Coal Tubin' founder Chad Gontkovic said. "Out of respect for the family and those involved, we have no further comment at this time."

According to a report from the state police, the boy fell out of an inner tube and became trapped under water.

Jerome Volunteer Fire Department led the rescue.

The boy was wearing a life vest and a helmet at the time of his death, Jerome fire Chief Russell Miller said.

First responders were dispatched at 11:38 a.m. Thursday for the rescue at the Stonycreek River put-in at the intersection of Seanor Road and Miller Picking Road in Conemaugh Township, Somerset County, near Seanor.

Jerome Volunteer Fire Department, Region 13 Water Rescue, Johnstown Water Rescue, Scalp Level-Paint Volunteer Fire Department, Conemaugh Township EMS and Conemaugh Township police responded.

Miller said that the rescue took place at a river hydraulic, where water drops with force over a rock ledge into deeper water.

He said the rescue effort also involved helping 14 other people in the tubing party safely across the river, which was up to six feet deep in some areas.

A deputy of the Somerset County Coroner's Office pronounced the boy dead at the scene, Coroner Cullen Swank said. An autopsy completed on Friday confirmed the boy died from asphyxia due to accidental drowning, Swank said.

Swank declined to release the boy's name because he is a minor, he said.