Pittsburgh paramedics rescue man who fell below Panther Hollow Bridge

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh paramedics rescued a man who fell about 10 feet from a bridge beam in Oakland and hit his head Sunday evening.

The 21-year-old man, whose name hasn’t been released, fell from the Panther Hollow Bridge near Phipps Conservatory about 7:30 p.m.

Paramedics found him unconscious after hitting his head on a bridge pier.

“We finally made access to him and he was conscious and alert up on a five-foot wall on the concrete abutment,” Pittsburgh paramedic Rizz Valles said

They secured him in a basket stretcher and brought him down a hillside to the Panther Hollow Trail.

“It was a much easier operation. It was treacherous to come up. It was very steep and we probably would have had to traverse the hill a couple of times,” Valles said.

Officials had him in an ambulance by about 8:20 p.m. and took him to a hospital for treatment.

“It was getting dark, and that was just one of the challenges,” Pittsburgh EMS Paramedic Crew Chief Barry Warble said. “Trying not to fall down the hillside while you’re working – it’s easy to lose your balance. You have to take precautions.”

Pittsburgh EMS District Chief James Holman said things were under control by the time he got there.

“I'm very confident in them and I'm proud of them,” Holman said.

Channel 11's Jennifer Tomazic reported that these paramedics were called out to two rescues Sunday, the other one was in Frick Park.

WPXI