Hotel Guest Plummets 10 Stories Down Boiler Shaft to His Death

By Inside Edition

Updated: 5:35 AM PST, January 2, 2017

John Leonard, 23, had climbed to the roof to check out the view atop Washington's Dupont Circle Hotel when tragedy struck.

A Washington, D.C., hotel guest was tragically killed early Sunday after plummeting down a boiler shaft while checking out the view from the roof of the building.

Authorities say John Leonard, 23, had climbed to the roof of the Dupont Circle Hotel to catch a glimpse of the city skyline at the start of 2017 when he fell 10 stories to his death.

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The Herndon, Virginia, man had gone to the roof with another person who authorities said was possibly his girlfriend.

"It looks like a fall," Rachel Schaerr with the D.C. police told the Washington Post. "He went up to the roof to catch a really good view."

Leonard's body was removed by a team specially trained in confined space rescues.

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A manager with the hotel, which is part of the Doyle Group of hotels, called the death "a tragic accident."

Representatives with the Doyle Group did not immediately return a call for comment.

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Hotel Guest Plummets 10 Stories Down Boiler Shaft to His Death

John Leonard, 23, had climbed to the roof to check out the view atop Washington's Dupont Circle Hotel when tragedy struck.

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