A 23-year-old man died early New Year's Day after he fell 10 floors from the roof of a hotel at Dupont Circle into a boiler shaft, police and fire department officials say.
John Leonard, of Herndon, Virginia, fell from the roof of The Dupont Circle Hotel on the 1500 block of New Hampshire Avenue NW.
A police department spokeswoman told The Washington Post that Leonard fell about 2:30 a.m. Sunday after he went to the roof to get a good view of the city. He was with another person, possibly his girlfriend, the spokeswoman told the paper.
Neighbors told News4 they heard screams from the hotel that overlooks Dupont Circle.
Crews that specialize in confined-spaces rescues recovered Leonard's body in the basement of the building, in the boiler room, a fire department spokesman said.
D.C. police are investigating Leonard's fall as accidental.
A manager of the hotel, where Leonard was a guest, called the incident "a tragic accident." He did not offer additional details.
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A family member contacted by News4 on Sunday night said the family had no immediate comment on Leonard's death.
