Joe Dado's Death Marks Sad Start to Penn State School Year

Penn State's school year is off to a sad start with tonight's announcement that freshman Joe Dado, missing since early Sunday morning, was found dead by repairmen. Joe Dado had been missing since 3 am Sunday when he was last seen leaving a frat party at Phi Gamma Delta. As of Monday afternoon, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had been called in to help locate the missing college student, a state police helicopter search was underway, and police, family and k-9 units were combing the campus grounds in the hopes of finding Joe Dado. Early Monday evening, news no one wanted to hear, Joe Dado's body was found.

The Penn Stater blog reported that Joe Dado fell 15 feet to his death near a mechanical room outside Hosler building. He suffered severe head trauma. Joe Dado's body was found by repairmen responding to a service call at about 6 p.m.

Before the public announcement of Joe Dado's death, online posters who appeared to be students from the Penn State campus disclosed the sad result of the investigation on comment sections of news stories at sites such as the Huffington Post and Associated Content. The postings said Joe Dado's body was found at 7:05 in a stairwell between Steidle and Deike, two buildings on campus. According to the posters, police did not suspect foul play but alcohol was believed to be a factor in Joe Dado's death.

Those postings may have been derived from campus blogs such as onwardstate.com an official Penn State student run blog which contained a running account of the investigation.

While no definitive medical findings have been made in Joe Dado's death, onwardstate.com's report that alcohol was a contributing factor seems likely given that Dado's fall occurred after leaving a frat party at 3 am.

An incident that could have been a rite of passage, a later laughed-off episode of over-imbibing, a remember when and never again, instead apparently led to the death of college freshman Joe Dado. This refrain is becoming increasingly common on university campuses with many students still unaware of the dangers of overconsumption of alcohol including alcohol poisoning.

Collegedrinkingprevention.com provides college students with critical information to help them save each other's lives. The website identifies common signs of alcohol poisoning and instructions on handling alcohol poisoning cases.

The most important message to grasp about alcohol poisoning is that it can be deadly; if in doubt, call 911 rather than risk that the person who overimbibed will recover.

Some critical signs of alcohol poisoning include mental confusion, stupor, coma, or inability to be aroused; vomiting; seizures; fewer than 8 breaths per minute; irregular breathing (more than 10 seconds between breaths) and hypothermia. All of these symptoms need not be present.

Because a person with these symptoms can die, anyone recognizing these symptoms should get help before it is too late.

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"Sleeping it off" is not safe because the blood alcohol concentration often increases in an unconscious person as the alcohol circulates through the bloodstream. Also putting a drunk person to bed leaves him or her at risk of asphyxiation from choking on vomit. Like sleeping it off, walking it off, drinking black coffee and taking cold baths do not cure alcohol poisoning. A person who is suffering from alcohol poisoning needs emergency room treatment consisting of pumping the contents of the stomach.

Rapid drinking, such as often occurs during drinking games, is considered especially risky because the drinker can consume a fatal dose of alcohol without passing out.

The extent to which alcohol played a role in Joe Dado's death remains to be determined. But on this sad occasion, college students might note the risks associated with drinking and learn about how they can protect one another.

Joseph Dado graduated from Greater Latrobe High School in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in 2009.

Sources: http://live.psu.edu/story/41677/rss49; http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/OtherAlcoholInformation/factsAboutAlcoholPoisoning.aspx; http://www.about-getting-sober.com/Alcohol_Poisoning_and_Treatment.html;