Carlow University students mourn freshman who died in fall from balcony

A somber mood permeated Carlow University's Oakland campus Thursday, a day after the death of freshman Dalton Bacco.

On the sidewalk outside the student center, bouquets of yellow, pink and blue flowers propped up alongside a few candles served as a makeshift memorial for the 19-year-old from West View.

Inside the building, mourners left messages for Bacco's family by dropping handwritten notes into a box on the counter near the college's mailroom and bookstore.

“He was always laughing, smiling and nice,” said Ashley Hoak, 19, of Elizabeth, after pausing to take a photo of the memorial flowers. “He had a lot of friends. ... It's like the saddest thing ever.”

Bacco died Wednesday at 5:01 p.m., about 40 minutes after he fell five stories from a covered balcony area encircling the top floor of the University Commons building. His official cause and manner of death are pending.

Those who knew Bacco said they would remember the North Hills High School graduate for his infectious smile, zany sense of humor and kind heart.

“Once you met him, you liked him,” said Ryan Shank, who coached Bacco on Carlow University's men's golf team.

“He just loved to laugh, he loved to make people laugh and he could laugh at himself.”

Hoak recalled a hilarious moment earlier this school year when Bacco inexplicably showed up for a campus carnival wearing a bunny costume.

“Really, Dalton? Why?” she recalled asking, to which he replied, “Just because.”

Another time, Bacco arrived at a communications class they shared minutes before it was scheduled to end.

“Well, Dalton, thanks for coming,” quipped the professor.

“You're welcome,” Bacco replied in a playful tone that caused the entire room to burst into laughter.

Bacco had set his sights on a career in respiratory care, Hoak recalled.

His death rattled the tight-knit community of about 1,400 undergraduate students at the private liberal arts school just as students took the last of their final exams and parents arrived to help them pack up for summer break.

“I feel for Dalton's parents... they did a great job raising him,” said Shank, who fielded texts and calls Thursday from college golfers throughout the region — including some Point Park University players who fondly recalled Bacco after only one encounter.

Bacco was a member of Carlow's inaugural men's golf team.

“Anytime he stopped on the course he did the best job he could possibly do,” said Shank, also a longtime friend of his father, Frank Bacco.

Shank recalled Frank Bacco proudly talking about his son's luck this past summer when his son hit a hole-in-one on a par-3 during a practice.

School officials with the North Hills School District — Bacco's K-12 alma mater — extended their “deepest sympathies and condolences.”

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner had not released the cause and manner of Bacco's death as of 6 p.m. Thursday. University officials said they do not suspect that any building or balcony safety issues contributed to his fall and there have been no reports of foul play.

Dalton Bacco's family said that he “gave the gift of life to others” through the donation of his bone and skin organs and a heart valve.

The family has scheduled three services: 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Soxman Funeral Home, 7450 Saltsburg Road in Penn Hills.

Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@tribweb.com or via Twitter @NewsNatasha.