Dimple Rock won't be altered
State officials have decided not to alter Dimple Rock -- the site of fatal rafting accidents at Ohiopyle State Park over the years -- but Fayette County Coroner Dr. Phillip Reilly has a "Plan B."
Reilly is sponsoring a contest asking engineering students to devise a plan to solve one of Dimple Rock's dangers -- rafters getting trapped inside a vacuum-like cavity under the rock in the Lower Youghiogheny River.
"I'm going to Plan B. I'm going to float the idea to (engineering school) deans," Reilly said during a press conference Friday. "I think the young people will come up with some good ideas."
Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced that after five years and a $100,000 engineering study, the department determined that Dimple Rock should not be altered. In fact, the department said changes could increase rafting risks rather than improve the situation.
In the last 30 years, there have been 21 deaths on the Lower Yough. About half of the 18 deaths that were directly connected to boating occurred at Dimple Rock Rapid or nearby Swimmers Rapid, the conservation department reported.
Reilly said at least three and possibly four of those nine deaths occurred when people became lodged underneath a ledge. Water currents make it impossible to move once someone is sucked into the cavity, Reilly said.
The coroner said many safety improvements have been made by park officials since three deaths occurred at or around Dimple Rock in 2000.
John Hallas, Ohiopyle park manager, said warning signs have been added, a safety video shown to boaters is continuously updated and the park added a portage area so rafters can carry their crafts around Dimple Rock safely.
An automated external defibrillator in a waterproof box is also handy to whitewater guides who need to help boaters in distress, Hallas said.
"I assure you the risk has been reduced by everything we've done on the river," Reilly said. "I think we should go to Plan B, and reduce the risk under the rock to zero."
Reilly had started a similar contest in 2004 but backed off when told the state was conducting a professional engineering study.
He's assembling a panel of judges and contacting college and university officials. Reilly said wining entries may get a cash prize and will be passed along to the state for consideration.
Hallas said he thinks the contest is a fun idea that may help in the long run.
"It's another piece of data we can take and add to our picture of that particular area," Hallas said.
Reilly stressed that he's not "the mad bomber of Dimple Rock" as people have portrayed him.
"If anything happens to Dimple Rock in the middle of the night, I proclaim my innocence," he said.
He said he just wants to make sure risks are reduced as much as possible in the intrinsically dangerous sport.
"Dimple Rock may be an accessory, but not the sole cause," Reilly said.
