Pickup truck ends up in the Allegheny River from Harmar boat ramp, no one hurt

Harmar police are investigating after a pickup ended up submerged in the Allegheny River on Wednesday evening.

Allegheny County dispatchers said no injuries were reported in connection with the incident at the boat ramp along the 2500 block of Wenzel Drive.

Two men went boating late that afternoon when things went awry as they attempted to get the boat onto a trailer and out of the water, Allegheny Valley firefighter Tyler Kelly said.

One man was in the boat and the other was driving the truck.

Kelly said the driver told responders he had the brakes on as the other man put the boat on the trailer. The truck couldn’t gain any traction when the driver attempted to pull the boat, and everything ended up in the river.

“As the vehicle went down into the water, the boat floated and the vehicle didn’t,” Kelly said. “Once we got everybody out of the water we notified the proper authorities for the vehicle being in the water, as well as a tow truck.”

The vehicle and trailer were both pulled out of the river around 9:30 p.m., nearly three and a half hours after emergency responders got the initial call.

Kelly said the driver was able to get himself out of the sinking truck. Responders threw him a life preserver and safely got him out of the river.

A tow truck from Bochek’s Collision Center arrived. That driver dove into the water to ensure the hooks were in place. However, the pickup continued to sink and could not be lifted above the submerged lip of the ramp.

“The boat trailer is actually jackknifed and facing up river, and the vehicle is on top of it,” Kelly said. “After you go about 10 or 15 feet off the ramp there’s a pretty significant drop off. This is a very busy ramp. A lot of people use it to travel back and forth to the island.”

Blawnox Fire Rescue, as well as Oakmont firefighters and Lower Valley and Parkview EMS responded.

Kelly said there was some concern with the truck leaking gasoline into the river. Authorities late Wednesday could not confirm how much fuel may have leaked.