Worker Flown to Hospital After Falling From Penn State Residence Hall

An employee of a roofing contractor was flown to a hospital after falling from a Penn State residence hall on Tuesday morning.

The incident happened at about 9:30 a.m. when the worker fell several stories at Thompson Hall in the West Halls complex on the University Park campus, according to emergency dispatch reports. A Life Flight helicopter landed at a field at the corner of North Atherton Street and White Course Drive and transported the individual to a regional trauma center.

The worker was an employee of Mid-State Roofing and Coating Inc. and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into the incident, a U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson said. OSHA has up to six months to complete the investigation.

Penn State spokesperson Wyatt DuBois confirmed the individual was an employee of a contractor conducting roof work on the dormitory and was flown to a hospital to be treated for injuries after a fall.

DuBois did not respond to a question about the patient’s condition.

“The cause of the fall is being investigated by appropriate parties,” DuBois wrote in an email. “Out of respect for the employee, their family, and their employer, the University does not have further comment.”

Mid-State Roofing and Coating was awarded a $3.9 million bid earlier this year to replace the slate roof system on Thompson Hall, according to Office of the Physical Plant bid documents.