Volunteer firefighters rescue a 21-year-old woman who fell about 80 feet down a cliff Sunday afternoon at McConnells Mill State Park in Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County. The woman, a student at Slippery Rock University, suffered a number of injuries but none were believed to be life-threatening. She was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital by medical helicopter.
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP, Lawrence County — A Slippery Rock University student — taking advantage of unseasonably warm temperatures and a sunny sky — was injured Sunday afternoon after she fell about 80 feet down a cliff at McConnells Mill State Park.
Volunteer firefighters donned climbing gear, repelled down the vertical cliff and painstakingly hoisted the 21-year-old Pittsburgh woman back up in a rescue basket near Breakneck Falls.
She was flown by Stat MedEvac helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh with an assortment of injuries but none were believed to be life-threatening.
She was conscious and alert, and even sharing laughs with members of her hiking party and other park-goers.
'It's a miracle'
“I would definitely say it's a miracle,” said Blake Kelly, who was one of three friends, all SRU students, who were hiking together with the woman when she fell shortly after 3 p.m.
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Volunteer firefighters rescue a 21-year-old woman who fell about 80 feet down a cliff Sunday afternoon at McConnells Mill State Park in Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County. The woman, a student at Slippery Rock University, suffered a number of injuries but none were believed to be life-threatening. She was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital by medical helicopter.Jim Smith/Butler Eagle
Photo by Jim SmithVolunteer firefighters rescue a 21-year-old woman who fell about 80 feet down a cliff Sunday afternoon at McConnells Mill State Park in Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County. The woman, a student at Slippery Rock University, suffered a number of injuries but non believed to be life threatening. She was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital by medical helicopter.This is a preview of a story that will appear in Wednesday’s Butler Eagle
Volunteer firefighters rescue a 21-year-old woman who fell about 80 feet down a cliff Sunday afternoon at McConnells Mill State Park in Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County. The woman, a student at Slippery Rock University, suffered a number of injuries but none were believed to be life-threatening. She was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital by medical helicopter.Jim Smith/Butler Eagle