MARSHALL TWP, Allegheny County — A woman died Tuesday afternoon after jumping from an Interstate 79 overpass onto the highway.

An autopsy was planned this morning on Anna Sharlow, 53, of Marshall Township. The cause and manner of her death are pending that forensic examination.

Northern Regional Police Chief Robert Amann said his officers continue to investigate the death.

Amann said Wednesday morning authorities thought Sharlow may have fallen onto the highway, but he acknowledged police had not ruled out that the woman intentionally jumped off the 40-foot high Wexford Run Road overpass about 3:45 p.m.

A family member of Sharlow on Thursday confirmed to the Butler Eagle that the woman committed suicide.

Sharlow’s body landed in the northbound lanes. Amann said she was not struck by motorists on the interstate.

The fatality backed up traffic on I-79 for about two hours during the evening rush-hour, Amann said,

Police closed two lanes but kept the right northbound lane open.

Sharlow was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:05 p.m., according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Police said they later found Sharlow’s vehicle in the parking lot of Marshall Middle School, less than one-quarter mile away from where she died. The school is part of the North Allegheny School District.

Investigators did not immediately know why she parked her vehicle there before walking onto the overpass, Amann said.

Sharlow, who was married, lived in the northern part of the township, close to the Allegheny-Butler County line. Her home was about four miles from the overpass.