Crews Rescue Man, Dog From Hillside After 4 Hours
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PENN HILLS (KDKA) -- Emergency crews worked for more than four hours Friday afternoon to rescue a man and a dog from an embankment in Penn Hills.
It happened around 3:30 p.m. at Lincoln Road and Grove Road.
Firefighters, paramedic, and police used a rope relay system and a vertical lift to haul up a man and his dog trapped in a ravine after the vehicle the man was driving went over a cliff in the 8000 block of Lincoln Road. They got out of the vehicle safely, but needed a lot to get back up the steep hill.
Also pulled up from the ravine, several first responders who stayed with the man while the complex rescue plan was devised. They also brought water to the man and his dog, named Boss.
WATCH: Crews rescue dog from hillside --
"We sent medical personnel and a firefighter over the hill in about 15 minutes in rappel," Penn Hills Fire Chief Chief Devin Cummings said. "The big problem was going to be the raising them back up and getting them up safely."
There were no serious injuries reported, but firefighters and rescuers were treated for dehydration and heat-related issues.
"During the course of the evening, we've transported six patients," Diane Fitzhenry, the Penn Hills EMS Supervisor said. "We treated two patients at the scene and they were released, and we treated and transported one dog."
The vehicle that careened 150 feet over the Lincoln Road cliff was believed to be a pick-up truck, but it was hard to determine the make and model because it was badly damaged after it first hit a boat and trailer and then went airborne into the ravine.
The vehicle was traveling down Grove Road about 3:30 p.m. when the crash took place.
"He came flying down the hill from, had to be from the top of Grove Road, flying through the first stop sign," witness Mareisha Robinson said. "I kinda feel bad because I, like, screamed at him, like, 'Dude, there's a stop sign right here!'"
"[It sounded] like metal hitting metal. Like a very loud crash. It just sounded like someone dropped a bunch of garbage cans," neighbor Marsha Colbert said.
"All in all, for it being Friday the 13th, we're pleased with the outcome," Fitzhenry said.
The driver of the vehicle was not immediately identified. He suffered some lacerations. A vet is checking out his dog.