Woman trapped in car by fallen tree rescued by Penn Hills residents, another motorist

A pair of Penn Hills residents and nurses helped save a woman trapped in her car by a tree that had fallen onto Verona Road.

Joe Marron and his girlfriend, Amanda Livingston, were unloading groceries at their home along the 4600 block of Verona Road on Thursday afternoon when they heard a crash.

“Traffic was at a standstill,” Marron said. “I heard the crackle and the tree came down on her car.”

Livingston said she called 911 and gave dispatchers updates from the scene. Emergency responders were dispatched around 4:10 p.m.

A dead tree at least 14 feet tall came down across both lanes.

Its branches fell across the windshield, smashing it, and came within inches of a woman driving a Honda CR-V on Verona Road headed toward Coal Hollow Road.

“I pulled the lady out of the car,” said Marron. “She was in shock. There was glass everywhere. I was pulling it off her face.”

Meanwhile, a nurse stuck in traffic got out and assisted, as did a visiting nurse attending to Marron’s parents next door.

Police Chief Howard Burton the woman suffered minor injuries, but was not transported to a hospital.

The tree may have fallen due to the persistent rains, Burton said.

More information about the driver was not immediately available. Burton said he was not aware of the bystanders’ assistance.

Firefighters cut the tree into pieces and moved them to the side of the road, which was reopened to traffic before 5 p.m.

Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at 412-871-2367, mdivittorio@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MikeJdiVittorio.