A body was discovered in the Youghiogheny River on Monday afternoon after rescuers responded to a report of a person jumping into the river following a crash on Interstate 70, according to a Westmoreland County dispatcher.
The crash was reported at 2:40 p.m. on the westbound side of the highway, at a bridge that carries the interstate over the river between Rostraver and South Huntingdon townships, near the Smithton exit.
The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office was called to the scene just before 3 p.m. Rescue teams pulled the body from the water shortly before 4:30 p.m., according to the Sutersville Volunteer Fire Department.
River rescue teams and firefighting units from Yukon, Rostraver, Collinsburg, Sutersville and Turkeytown responded.
Rostraver West Newton Emergency Services used a new camera drone to help find the body and monitor the swiftwater rescue teams, the agency reported on Facebook. The drone also aided in the police investigation by measuring the height of the bridge and providing photos and videos of the scene.
Additional details weren’t immediately available.
Part of the Great Allegheny Passage was blocked off temporarily by county Park Police in Cedar Creek Park as first responders worked further down the trail by the river. Further down the river, people continued using the trail and boaters could be seen in the water near the Smithton Bridge around 4:45 p.m.
