Pa. State Trooper Rescued After He Collapses While Responding

July 21--An unidentified state trooper from the Pennsylvania Turnpike detail suffered an apparent heart attack near New Stanton on Friday as he descended over a hillside attempting to rescue two injured travelers who drove over a 200-foot embankment.

Officials from the Troop T headquarters at Highspire in Dauphin County confirmed that the trooper subsequently had to be rescued by a rope tactical team and brought up the embankment following the 7:40 p.m. accident. The trooper, whose identity was not released, was revived by emergency personnel before he was flown to an unknown Pittsburgh hospital.

The accident occurred along the westbound lanes at mile marker 75.9 between New Stanton and Donegal. The turnpike was closed in both directions about 8:15 p.m. to allow a medical helicopter to land near the accident scene. The highway reopened to traffic in both directions about 8:45 p.m.

According to emergency dispatch reports, authorities had to summon a rope tactical team from North Huntingdon to extricate the three patients from the accident.

After the trooper was flown from the scene, rescue efforts resumed to extract the two original accident victims, whose injuries were not considered life-threatening, according to emergency dispatch reports. Those two patients were subsequently taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh by ground ambulances.

The special rope tactical team was assisting firefighters from New Stanton, who were the first on the scene along with state troopers.

Further details of the accident and the identities and the conditions of the patients were not available.

Paul Peirce is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-850-2860 or ppeirce@tribweb.com.

Copyright 2012 - Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.