Woman rescued after jumping from New Kensington Bridge
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A woman was rescued from the Allegheny River after jumping from the New Kensington Bridge on Friday morning.
The incident was reported shortly before 10 a.m., a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said.
The woman was sedated when she was taken from the scene by ambulance, according to officials at the scene.
New Kensington police Detective Sam Long, who helped rescue the woman, would not release the woman’s age or say where she is from. He did confirm that she is an adult.
Long went into the river on a kayak from The Lighthouse Marina and kept the woman above water until a boat from the marina came out to them.
Long said the woman was semi-conscious when he reached her about 100 feet from the shore.
He said he was able to get about a third of the way back in the kayak.
“It was too hard to paddle with one hand,” he said. “I saw they put a boat in the water, so I waited.”
Butch Hurley, who works at the marina located just down river from the bridge, formally called the C.L. Schmitt Bridge, piloted the pontoon boat that carried paramedics and police out to the woman.
“It really gets you fired up,” Hurley said as crews were leaving the scene. “I was so happy she’s alive.”
Hurley said he saw an ambulance arrive and was told a body was in the river.
“I knew they needed a boat and I had to get one in the water,” he said. “We moved as fast as we could.”
Hurley said a pontoon boat owned by the marina and for sale was available. He said they used a man’s pickup to get it into the water within five to 10 minutes.
Hurley said he didn’t notice much about the woman after she was removed from the water. All he knew was that she was breathing.
“I was more worried about getting the boat to the ramp so the paramedics could do their job,” he said.
Hurley figures he was just at the right place, at the right time.
“I’m feeling good. I’m glad she’s still alive,” he said. “I’m just glad it all worked out.”
Long offered a big thank you to whoever called 911 and reported seeing the woman jump from the bridge.
Without that call, Long said, “The outcome would have been a lot different.”