Woman requiring life-saving treatment almost misses appointment because of snow, ice-covered streets

PITTSBURGH — Neighbors have been reaching out to Channel 11 by the dozen, critical of the city’s snow removal following Saturday’s storm.

That includes a woman in Pittsburgh’s Overbrook neighborhood who almost missed a critical medical treatment because her street was covered in snow and ice.

“This is a life and death situation,” Nicole Powell tells Channel 11. “I have to have my treatment today.”

Nicole Powell requires dialysis. She reached out to Channel 11 because her street was packed down with snow and ice. She says the road conditions are so dangerous, she almost missed her critical treatment.

“I don’t want to feel sick and have that fluid on me,” Powell added. “I won’t be able to breathe. It’s not a good situation.”

Powell says she called 311 multiple times. They told her they were getting flooded with 50 calls every 15 minutes. She says missing dialysis jeopardizes her chances for a transplant. She has a consultation for that transplant on Tuesday.

Late in the afternoon, Channel 11 learned a good Samaritan was able to pick Powell up and get her to her appointment.

We went to the City’s director of public works for answers. He defended his crews.

“We know that it was much more significant than it was originally predicted,” Chris Hornstein tells Channel 11. “We estimated that parts of the city got anywhere from 7-9 inches of snow.”

He added that conditions were so rough, the city lost 10% of its fleet due to maintenance issues.

Channel 11 heard from people in neighborhoods all over the city who say they pay a lot in taxes, but weren’t able to make it to work.

In Squirrel Hill, Forward Avenue was still untouched Monday morning. Neighbors tell Channel 11 they were livid to learn that while they were white knuckling, the bike lane that runs from Beechwood Boulevard to Forbes Avenue was salted and plowed.

Powell says she feels failed by the city.

“If we need to go somewhere, we should feel safe to do it, not to sit there in fear and think ‘what am I going to do if I can’t go? Am I going to have to go to the ER?’”

The Director of Public Works says there are 40-50 trucks out on city streets every 12 hours, and freezing temperatures are going to make conditions even trickier. The city expects pavement to be clear and visible by Wednesday afternoon.

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