Emergency medical and fire crews roll one man toward an emergency medical helicopter along Pine Furnace Road last night after the man was injured in an All-Terrain Vehicle accident. After experiencing pain ‘all over,’ the man was transported to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh as a precaution.
by Jonathan Weaver
One man was airlifted to a regional hospital last night after a vehicle accident in Valley Township.
Kittanning Township firefighters and about a dozen Rayburn Township fire crews were the first to respond to a report of an injured All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) passenger in Valley Township.
The incident occurred along Pine Furnace Road near Pine Creek.
A STAT MedEvac helicopter landed in a field about half-a-mile from the accident site across from a farmhouse shortly after 7PM and lifted off.
Rayburn Township Fire Lieutenant Bob Bellas said the occupant inside was transported to Allegheny General Hospital – but only as a precaution.
“They were driving through some tall grass that was about chest-high and they hit a stump that they didn’t see. The gentlemen flew up and we’re not sure if he hit the windshield of the ATV or the metal bar that the windshield connects to,” Bellas said. “He was experiencing some very general pain all over, so they flew him as a precaution.”
Kittanning #6 Ambulance responders only prepped one of the two vehicle occupants for transport. The driver did not need emergency attention.
Rayburn Township firefighters are the primary responders to Valley Township, but ask for assistance from Kittanning Township crews because of additional rescue equipment.
“They get dispatched automatically on all accidents in Rayburn or Valley Township,” Bellas said.
The road was close to the Boggs Township line – which would have alerted Pine Township-Templeton emergency crews.
This was about the 10th ATV accident Rayburn Township crews have responded to so far this year.