Fire crews fish truck out of Allegheny River in Harmar

When firefighters arrived at the Deer Creek Boat Ramp in Harmar on Monday, it wasn’t a boat they found in the Allegheny River.

The crews instead found a white Chevy Colorado pickup mostly submerged in the water, according to Allegheny Valley Fire Chief Jay Zangrille.

The driver, who escaped without injury, had been backing up to reload their boat onto a trailer when they lost control of the vehicle, Zangrille said.

Fire crews from Allegheny Valley, Blawnox, Oakmont and Verona spent about an hour wrangling the vehicle back to shore to a tow truck, he said.

Divers from Blawnox hooked up chains to the truck, which ultimately reeled the vehicle onto dry land, Zangrille said. The chief said it was an example of “great teamwork” between the departments.

It’s not the first time an incident like this has happened.

In a nearly identical episode in 2022, another white pickup ended up in the Allegheny at the same boat ramp while attempting to retrieve a boat from the river.