PITTSBURGH — The woman pulled from her vehicle after it plunged into the Mon River from the Parkway East died at the hospital late Thursday night.
Click here for photos of the scene from DRONE 11 and our crews on the ground.
An Allegheny County dispatcher said emergency crews were called to the area of the 900 block of Second Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Bluff neighborhood around 4:36 p.m.
Dive teams began entering the water at around 5:20 p.m.
The victim was removed at around 5:45 p.m. Divers used a rope system and a Stokes basket to bring up the woman. Medics resuscitated her, and she was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
The Medical Examiner’s Office identified the woman who died as Jacinta Stevens, 31, of the West End.
Police told Channel 11 they believe the vehicle came off the Parkway East.
Chief of Pittsburgh EMS Amera Gilchrist, said paramedics made two dives. The first was to get the woman out of the car. The second was to confirm that there were no other victims.
Initial reports indicated that there might have been two vehicles in the water, Gilchrist said, but that information was confirmed to be false.
Gilchrist commended first responders, including off-duty paramedics who responded and divers who operated in ice and sub-zero temperatures.
The vehicle was positioned underwater about 5 feet from the wall, Gilchrist said. The vehicle will be brought up at some point, but not immediately, she added.
On Thursday, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Rocco Gagliardi provided an update on the investigation, saying troopers responded to the fatal crash around 5:14 p.m.
According to reconstruction analysis, a Ford Explorer was traveling on I-376 eastbound when, at about mile marker 73, it lost control in the left lane, Gagliardi said.
The vehicle then traveled to the right side of the road and struck a snow embankment, which Gagliardi said was about equal in height to the adjacent concrete barrier. The vehicle then traveled over the barrier and fell about 120 feet into the river.
Two people were underneath the Parkway overpass when they saw the vehicle fall, Gagliardi said. They did not have the means to call 911 and needed to flag someone down on Second Avenue to call.
The victim, Jacinta Stevens, was under the water for between 40 and 60 minutes, Gagliardi said. The response time was hindered by an unusual lack of 911 reports and the time needed for rescuers to gear up, he added.
“Some people might look at that and say ‘Well that’s far too long,’ but when you look at the whole kind of grand scope, ... that 40 to 60 minutes really is a successful operation because we’re talking that’s a pretty quick maneuver with all those kinds of extracurriculars added in there,” Gagliardi said.
When safe, Gagliardi said, recovery of the vehicle must be done in coordination with a towing company and divers.
State police are now asking anyone who may have seen the crash or been in that area of I-376 around that time to call PSP Pittsburgh.
Investigators are looking at any factors on the road or in the vehicle that may indicate why the vehicle lost control. PSP is requesting alcohol and drug testing records from the coroner’s office, as is standard procedure for fatal crashes, Gagliardi said.
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