Minivan goes off road in Buffalo Township, over steep embankment into creek; driver airlifted
A woman was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital on Thursday evening after she reportedly drove her minivan over a steep hillside in Buffalo Township and it landed in a creek.
Buffalo Township police Chief Tim Derringer said emergency crews were called to the intersection of South Pike Road and Sarver Road just before 5 p.m. after receiving reports of a car driving over a hillside and into a creek below.
A woman was driving alone when she reportedly proceeded at a green light and drove off the road between a home and a business before crashing, Derringer said.
“It’s still under investigation if it was a vehicle failure or a medical episode that caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle,” Derringer said.
The unidentified woman was taken to Buffalo Elementary School where a medical helicopter airlifted her to a Pittsburgh hospital for a head and leg injury.
According to a social media post from the township’s police department, two unidentified nurses witnessed the accident, climbed down the steep embankment and treated the victim while emergency services were on the way.
Emergency responders included Freeport EMS, Buffalo Township police and fire department, Sarver Volunteer Fire Department. Emergency personel from Harrison Hills and Saxonburg were also on scene.
The scene was clear and roads were reopened by 6:45 p.m.
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.