Driver Rescued After Vehicle Plunges Over Hill, Into Mon River
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MUNHALL (KDKA) -- A man was rescued after his car plunged about 60 feet over a hillside and into the Monongahela River in Munhall on Friday evening.
The accident was first reported just before 7 p.m. in the 1000 block of E. Waterfront Drive, near the bridge that takes you to Eighth Avenue.
Firefighters had to cut down trees to make room to lower themselves over the hillside using ropes.
The fire chief says it was a very dangerous rescue.
"The river's very high, so it's very dangerous down there," said Chief Ed Pletsch, of the Munhall Bureau of Fire. "The hillside's straight down, it's raining out here, the temperature's dropping, so there were a lot of factors here. All our guys had to wear flotation devices, everybody had to be harnessed up, we had safety lines on everybody."
Once firefighters got to the bottom, they helped the driver into a rescue boat.
He was then taken to Sandcastle where he was met by paramedics to be checked out and then taken to the hospital. Chief Pletsch said he had some minor injuries, including a head injury.
Officials say they don't know what caused the driver to go over the hill.