Matthew Potel, Binghamton Student, Falls To Death In Adirondacks

Binghamton University senior and New York native Matthew Potel died Friday after falling down a ravine on Mount Colden, one the state's tallest points. He was 22.

The student apparently slipped to his death while trying to assist two of his peers in crossing the ravine. As his mother, Cynthia Potel, told the New York Post:

"Then two [female] students were left and had trouble. So Matt, practicing his [planned] profession of being an outdoor educator, to lead and protect, went back to help.

"He was able to get one across," she told The Post.

"But as he was reaching for the last person, he turned, lost his footing, slipped and went head-first 25 feet down a ravine."

Potel had been leading a school-sanctioned trip of seven students to the mountain, lohud.com reports. He was co-president of Binghamton's Outdoors Club and scheduled to graduate from the university in December.