Guest Falls to Death at DC's Dupont Circle Hotel on New Year's

Washington, D.C.'s Dupont Circle Hotel was the site of tragedy New Year's when a 23-year-old guest fell to his death in a boiler shaft from the hotel's roof.

The Washington Post reported Virginia native Justin Leonard was on the hotel's roof along with one other person at around 2:30 a.m. Sunday when he fell 10 stories into the hotel's basement.

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

One of the hotel's general Mark Caldwell called Leonard's death a "tragic accident." Neither the four-star hotel nor its owner, the Doyle Collection, provided any additional details of the incident.

Firefighters were able to retrieve Leonard's body after about an hour, with D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department spokesman Vito Maggiolo confirming to the Post that crews specializing in confined-space rescues took the call.

It's unclear how Leonard got onto the hotel's roof and who he was with at the time. However, the Post reported he may have been with his girlfriend.

Follow @_Pat_Clarke