A man was pulled from the water near Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente Bridge shortly after midnight on Monday after a bystander reached out with a tree branch to keep him afloat until rescue crews arrived. He was found along the river wall, evaluated by EMS divers aboard a rescue boat, and taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the bridge after reports of a person in the water, according to WPXI. River Rescue, Pittsburgh police, fire crews and EMS all responded to the scene, and emergency crews located the man along the river wall. A bystander assisted him by extending a tree branch for him to hold onto while help arrived.
How Crews Got Him to Shore
Once on scene, River Rescue threw the man a personal flotation device, then pulled him onto their boat and brought him to shore, the station's report states. EMS divers evaluated him on the rescue boat before he was transported to a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. The report does not say what led the man into the river or identify him or the bystander who helped him.
Pittsburgh's river rescue operation is a joint effort between the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and the Bureau of Police, according to Next Pittsburgh, which notes the unit has operated since 1986 and is stationed around the clock at the City of Pittsburgh River Safety Center near PNC Park on the Allegheny River.
A Busy Unit on the City's Three Rivers
The crews that staff Pittsburgh's river rescue boats are pulled from police and EMS ranks and complete more than 400 hours of training, per WTAE. The city operates two rescue boats that are certified, licensed and inspected as ambulances, and the unit fields roughly 150 calls a year across Pittsburgh's three rivers. WTAE has also reported that the team stayed busy with calls over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Monday's rescue echoes another North Shore incident from earlier this year, when police, fire and EMS responded to a reported drowning near the Mister Rogers Memorial, as detailed by CBS News Pittsburgh. In that case, a bystander located the man in the water, called 911 and held onto his arm until first responders arrived. He was treated at the scene for hypothermia and hospitalized in stable condition; police said alcohol may have been a factor after the man told first responders he did not know how he ended up in the river. CBS News Pittsburgh also noted that the North Shore River Walk has no barriers separating the walkway from the water itself. It is not established whether Monday's rescue is connected to that earlier North Shore case or any other past river rescue response.
