One person was taken to the hospital after a vehicle went off I-376 (Parkway East) and into the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh early Thursday evening, Pennsylvania State Police said.Sky 4 flew over the scene at the icy river near Second Avenue, between the 10th Street Bridge and the Birmingham Bridge, as first responders continued an hours-long rescue effort.Divers entered the water to bring someone out of the river. Shortly before 6:45 p.m., Sky 4 video showed another diver entering the frigid water.Pittsburgh EMS Chief Amera Gilchrist said there were reports of a car going off the parkway and into the Mon shortly before 4:30 p.m. Initial reports indicated that a second car may have also gone into the water, she said.”Pittsburgh paramedics did two dives. The first one was to rescue the victim from the vehicle. They started to resuscitate her. She’s in critical condition, was transported to the hospital,” Gilchrist said. “There was still some question as to if there was any other victims in the vehicle and/or if there was another car in, so the paramedics performed a second dive. They were able to confirm that there was not a second car in the water, and that there were no other victims located.” EMS chief gives update on Mon River rescue: Watch the full video aboveSky 4 video showed emergency responders placing a ladder into the river just below the eastbound exit lane for Forbes Avenue/Oakland on the parkway.Lights were brought to the scene to assist rescuers as the sky turned dark Thursday night.”There is so much ice out there that we don’t really have a boat that can respond that close, especially because it was the shore. They had to rig a rope system to actually safely get the responders down into the water,” Gilchrist said. She estimated that the water was 20 feet deep in the area of the emergency response.Diver enters icy Mon River: Watch the video from Sky 4 below.It’s unclear how the car went into the river. Pittsburgh police and Pennsylvania State Police are at the scene. Eastbound traffic on the Parkway East may be restricted while the police investigation continues. Second Avenue was completely shut down in the area with emergency crews lining the riverbank during the incident.Divers had to work quickly amid dangerous conditions, entering the icy water in the dark with a limited field of vision.”They cannot stay in the water past a certain time, or there’s a risk of hypothermia,” Gilchrist said. “Anyone that dove in the water today actually had to come out after a short period of time to get rehab.””They got in the water. They had the rope system hooked up. They had a Stokes basket lowered down into the water. They had to harness the victim inside, and then put them in the basket and hoist them up, so they were actually able just to go down and get the person out of the car, out of the driver’s seat.”One person taken to hospital from Mon River — Watch the breaking news report belowWatch the original breaking news report from Sky 4 belowThis is a developing story. Stay with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 for updates. Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.
PITTSBURGH —
One person was taken to the hospital after a vehicle went off I-376 (Parkway East) and into the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh early Thursday evening, Pennsylvania State Police said.
Sky 4 flew over the scene at the icy river near Second Avenue, between the 10th Street Bridge and the Birmingham Bridge, as first responders continued an hours-long rescue effort.
Divers entered the water to bring someone out of the river. Shortly before 6:45 p.m., Sky 4 video showed another diver entering the frigid water.
Pittsburgh EMS Chief Amera Gilchrist said there were reports of a car going off the parkway and into the Mon shortly before 4:30 p.m. Initial reports indicated that a second car may have also gone into the water, she said.
“Pittsburgh paramedics did two dives. The first one was to rescue the victim from the vehicle. They started to resuscitate her. She’s in critical condition, was transported to the hospital,” Gilchrist said. “There was still some question as to if there was any other victims in the vehicle and/or if there was another car in, so the paramedics performed a second dive. They were able to confirm that there was not a second car in the water, and that there were no other victims located.”
EMS chief gives update on Mon River rescue: Watch the full video above
Sky 4 video showed emergency responders placing a ladder into the river just below the eastbound exit lane for Forbes Avenue/Oakland on the parkway.
Lights were brought to the scene to assist rescuers as the sky turned dark Thursday night.
“There is so much ice out there that we don’t really have a boat that can respond that close, especially because it was the shore. They had to rig a rope system to actually safely get the responders down into the water,” Gilchrist said. She estimated that the water was 20 feet deep in the area of the emergency response.
Diver enters icy Mon River: Watch the video from Sky 4 below.
It’s unclear how the car went into the river. Pittsburgh police and Pennsylvania State Police are at the scene. Eastbound traffic on the Parkway East may be restricted while the police investigation continues. Second Avenue was completely shut down in the area with emergency crews lining the riverbank during the incident.
Divers had to work quickly amid dangerous conditions, entering the icy water in the dark with a limited field of vision.
“They cannot stay in the water past a certain time, or there’s a risk of hypothermia,” Gilchrist said. “Anyone that dove in the water today actually had to come out after a short period of time to get rehab.”
“They got in the water. They had the rope system hooked up. They had a Stokes basket lowered down into the water. They had to harness the victim inside, and then put them in the basket and hoist them up, so they were actually able just to go down and get the person out of the car, out of the driver’s seat.”
One person taken to hospital from Mon River — Watch the breaking news report below
Watch the original breaking news report from Sky 4 below
This is a developing story. Stay with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 for updates.
Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.