20-Year-Old Woman Rescued At West End Overlook
ELLIOT (KDKA) -- Emergency crews rescued a woman at the West End Overlook Wednesday evening.
Kristi Demel, 20, of Brentwood, was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital in stable condition.
She and two friends were walking on the hillside, just below the Overlook, when they went past a three-foot high railing. She lost her grip, slipped and fell vertically off a rock, landing on a ledge, about 20 feet below her.
"She was conscious and alert and it appeared she had a fractured leg and possibly a foot injury," EMS Division Chief Robert Farrow said.
It took just over an hour and 15 minutes for paramedics to rescue Demel after they reached her. First, they climbed down a ladder and gave her pain medication.
They then placed her on a board and in a stokes basket to prevent further injury. She was finally lifted to safety just before 6 p.m.
"She was given some pain medication, gave that some time to work so we could move her without her being in any real distress; placed her in a stokes basket, moved her horizontal across the hillside," said Farrow. "She's pretty lucky. Fortunately, she fell 15 feet, there's areas up here where you could fall a good 50, 60 feet."
One of the friends she was with, Paul Hagerich, also of Brentwood, told KDKA TV: "We were just looking at the view. We wanted to stand on a rock … and she fell."
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