Slippery Rock student recounts 'horrifying' 80-foot fall at McConnells Mill

Jocie Van Kirk, the 21-year-old Slippery Rock University psychology student who fell 80 feet on Sunday while hiking at McConnells Mill State Park with her friends, recounted the experience as “definitely one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever been through.”

“I was absolutely terrified,” Van Kirk said.

She said she doesn’t hike a lot, but if she’s invited she’ll go. “It’s a fun time.”

That day, her friends sent her a text inviting her to tag along for a hike at the park. Van Kirk, originally of Pittsburgh, said she almost stayed in, but the sunny weather and mild temperatures were too good to pass up. She donned her jacket, a pair of leggings and some sneakers and headed out the door.

She had hiked through the park before, even in the climbing area near Breakneck Bridge where she fell. The climbing area has several footpaths to allow climbers to access the rocks. That afternoon, she remembered telling herself to watch her feet, being careful not to slip.

Van Kirk said some parts of the path were wet. In some areas there were ice patches. But she said they weren’t anything she couldn’t handle. Until, of course, she couldn’t. She and her friends were on their way back to the car when it happened.

“One foot slipped off some leaves, which caused me to start falling. So, you know, I was tumbling till I just stopped,” she said.

Van Kirk ultimately landed in Cheeseman Run, a tributary to Slippery Rock Creek. She said bystanders helped her until her friends arrived and provided additional help. One of them called 911.

The fall fractured her spine, her neck and two separate spots on her pelvis, she said. When rescue crews reached her, they immobilized her and carried her to a flat area to be flown to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh.

That’s where she is now, wearing a neck brace and using a walker as she begins physical therapy.

“I’m still having pain. But I’m feeling a lot better,” she said.

Van Kirk said she hasn’t had to undergo any reconstructive surgeries, but might for the pelvis fractures.

Brian Flores, assistant park manager at Moraine State Park, whose offices oversees McConnells Mill State Park, said the fall could have been much worse.

“When she slipped, she fell and tumbled down the existing embankment. From the tumble, she fell another 25 feet off the cliff area. She hit rocks and tumbled another 15 feet and into the creek,” he said.

‘It’s a rugged park’

As someone who works at both parks, Flores has seen his fair share of injuries and some tragedies.

There were four incidents at McConnells Mill State Park in 2019 where people required medical treatment. Three of those incidents required a search and rescue operation, Flores said. The park, at just over 2,500 acres, gets around 400,000 visitors each year.

So far Van Kirk has been the only incident this year at McConnells Mill that required giving medical treatment, Flores said.

Moraine State Park, a swath of 16,700 acres located east of McConnells Mill, sees around 1.2 million visitors each year. Last year there were 13 incidents where people required medical treatment.

Flores said there are dangerous areas in each park. In 2018, Flores said there were two fatalities within Moraine State Park. Around four years ago, a woman fell to her death near Breckneck Bridge — which is in McConnells Mill State Park — when reaching for her camera that had fallen, Flores said.

Fortunately, he said, there haven’t been any fatalities in either park since 2018.

That is why he and his counterparts continually preach: “Be prepared for the environment. It’s a rugged park, people gotta plan for it.”

Van Kirk’s case was just unfortunate, Flores said.

“Unfortunately she was in an area where she just kind of lost her balance. It’s not like she wasn’t somewhere she shouldn’t be,” he said.

Van Kirk agreed.

“I was just following the path,” she said, adding she was sober and she was not distracted by her phone, as some have speculated on social media. In fact, she did not have her phone with her during the hike, she said.

“I definitely don’t see myself going back on that path again. Maybe one day I’ll go back to hiking – but on safer trails,” Van Kirk said.