PSU death may be alcohol-linked

Joseph Bettinger, 21, of Frackville, was taken by helicopter from Centre Community Hospital to Penn State's Geisinger Medical Center, where he was treated for head trauma. Bettinger was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m. Sunday, according to Montour County Coroner Scott Lynn. Bettinger became the second Penn State student to die from injuries suffered in a fall within the last two years. Police in State College said they believe alcohol contributed to Bettinger's fall on Saturday. When officers arrived at the scene of the accident, people told them Bettinger appeared to be intoxicated and had been walking backwards when he fell. A series of alcohol-related falls in 1997 led Penn State and borough police to toughen their stance on alcohol use this school year. On February 2 of last year, Penn State student Leigh Prevatte, 20, fell to her death from a sixth-story window after playing drinking games with a group made up of several of her friends. In two other incidents in the winter and spring of 1997, Kevin Nigut, then 24, and Brigid Carabine, then 27, were suffered a variety of serious injuries after falling from their windows. At the time, authorities said the two were both intoxicated. And in the space of less than three weeks this past September, more than 50 people were cited for underage drinking at four Penn State fraternities.