It took more than two hours Friday for emergency crews to rescue a man who suffered an apparent medical emergency and fell down a steep trail in Murrysville’s Duff Park.
Off-road utility terrain vehicles and a rope system were used to transport the man across some of the park’s steep ground, but he had to be carried much of the way, according to first responders.
A Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said the man reportedly suffered from a medical issue and fell down a steep trail.
Murrysville emergency crews responded about 2:45 p.m., and the man was flown to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh about 4:50 p.m.
The man was near the top of a steep incline several hundred yards off the park’s Coronary Trail, which follows a utility pipeline, said Darrick Gerano, administrative director for Murrysville Medic One. The fall victim was not identified.
Gerano said another park visitor discovered the man and led crews to him from the park’s parking lot.
The man was “in a wooded area, with trails that run below and beside it,” Gerano said. “There are some very steep hills and rough terrain. Everybody had to walk up to get him secured and packaged” in a special rescue stretcher known as a Stokes basket.
”The majority of the way out, he was carried by the responders, including EMS personnel and firemen,” Gerano said.
The man was transported on a UTV along a section of the pipeline.
Then he had to be lowered over another steep area in the basket, using a rope system rigged by the Sardis Volunteer Fire Department.
“Our crews had to stop short on one of the trails,” Sardis fire Chief Cody Paiano said. “The terrain was very treacherous.”
The man was lowered back onto a UTV, then transferred to an ambulance for the final leg of the trip to a medical helicopter that landed at Franklin Regional High School, Gerano said.
Details about the man’s condition weren’t available.
Firefighters from Murrysville, Export and White Valley assisted in the rescue. Murrysville police also responded.
Crews finally cleared the scene at the park, south of Route 22, at 6 p.m.
