Emergency medical technician struck by sliding car on icy hill in Harrison
What started as a routine traffic control call on Saturday afternoon escalated when an emergency medical technician was hit by a car in Harrison.
The EMT was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where she was reported to be in stable condition, according to authorities.
As wintry weather hit the region, crews from Citizens Hose Fire Rescue EMS were called to Burtner Road for reports of vehicles getting stuck on the steep hill leading from Exit 15 of Route 28 into the township’s Natrona Heights neighborhood.
“It sounds like initially (they were dispatched) to help with the traffic control,” said James Erb, Citizens’ EMS supervisor. “This state road is very well known for having vehicles get stuck on the road.”
TJ Bajack, assistant chief of Citizens Hose, said, while the ambulance was blocking the road to stop motorists from attempting to drive up the hill, a driver coming down Burtner Road lost control of their car in the snow.
“This road gets bad really quick, and it’s one of the last ones salted,” Bajack said.
He said the EMS worker tried to avoid the car but was “clipped.” The car hit the woman and then the guardrail, Bajack said.
The driver stayed at the scene to be interviewed by police.
Bajack said she was awake and talking as of 3:50 p.m.
The identities of the driver and the EMS worker have not been released.
An Allegheny County Police accident reconstruction team was summoned to the scene. Detectives were speaking with the driver, but there was no immediate word on whether charges would be filed.
Haley Daugherty is a TribLive reporter covering local politics, feature stories and Allegheny County news. A native of Pittsburgh, she lived in Alabama for six years. She joined the Trib in 2022 after graduating from Chatham University. She can be reached at hdaugherty@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.