W. Allegheny teacher dies of head injury

A West Allegheny High School math teacher died Monday of head injuries suffered in a weekend fall.

Ryan Madonna, 26, of Coraopolis, was visiting a friend of a friend at the Pine Glenn Apartments in Slippery Rock, after Slippery Rock University's homecoming game Saturday, when he fell down the stairs and hit his head, according to officials.

Madonna was going up the stairs inside an apartment unit, then started back down before changing his mind and going back up when he fell, according to apartment manager Joe Durso, who was not there but had talked to tenants who witnessed the incident.

"He just kind of turned around and lost his balance and fell backward ... and landed on his head," he said. Madonna was taken by medical helicopter to Allegheny General Hospital, North Side, where he died yesterday.

Madonna was in his second year at the 1,000-student high school in Imperial. He taught statistics, coached baseball and served as a math resource teacher, working one-on-one with students.

Counseling for students and teachers will be provided today.

In a statement released by West Allegheny School District, Tom Donnelly, chairman of the school's math department, called Madonna "a caring teacher who wanted to do the best for students" and "one of the hardest working teachers in the department."

Madonna received a master's degree in secondary education math sciences from Slippery Rock in 2005, two years after completing his bachelor's degree in education there. During a trip to Ireland with Slippery Rock students and faculty in 2004, he met Ireland's president, Mary McAleese. He enjoyed sports, camping, fishing, teaching and coaching.

Madonna is survived by his parents, Ralph and Debbie, of Coraopolis, and a brother, Shawn, of Imperial. His younger sister, Tina, 18, died Nov. 30, 2003.

Friends will be received from 1 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Anthony J. Sanvito Inc. Funeral Home, 1316 Fourth Ave., Coraopolis. Services will be at 9 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, followed by a Mass at 9:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Fifth Avenue and Chestnut Street, Coraopolis. Burial will follow at Coraopolis Cemetery.