Derry man killed in fall from Beam Rocks

A Derry man was killed early Sunday when he fell from the popular hiking spot Beam Rocks in Somerset County.

According to state police, Dakotah Rhodes, 25, died at 3:30 a.m. after falling from a ledge from the trail in Lincoln Township.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller said Rhodes' cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

His death has been ruled accidental.

Tribune-Review archives show a Dakotah Rhodes graduating from Derry Area High School in 2008, where he played for the district's basketball and football teams.

A Facebook site for a Dakotah Rhodes from Derry lists him as a guitar/bass player for the band Egality, formed in 2007.

Messages left with the band's website and a family member were not returned on Sunday.

According to a Somerset County Emergency Management website, firefighters from Sipesville and Jennerstown, Somerset Area Ambulance and the state Bureau of Forestry responded to the scene.

Rhodes was not the first to be injured or killed at the site.

In 2012, a 19-year-old woman was hurt when she fell off the cliff in Forbes State Forest.

The woman was with a group of teenagers who had gathered after the park had closed, state police said at the time.

Forbes State Forest comprises about 60,000 acres in Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties.

Beam Rocks, known for its 80-foot summit, is a popular attraction for hikers and rock climbers.

The site is closed overnight.

In March 2008, a couple fell to their deaths while hiking in the park. The bodies of Sara Baum, 24, of Greensburg and Christopher Cardy, 25, of Ligonier were found at the base of Beam Rocks.

Michael Vomish, 19, of Mt. Pleasant was climbing the rocks with friends on July 30, 2007, when he slipped and fell 75 feet to his death.

Following the 2007 and 2008 incidents, additional caution signs were installed at Beam Rocks, and rescue plans were improved.

Mary Pickels is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-836-5401 or mpickels@tribweb.com.