A river expert with the National Weather Service is speaking to Channel 11 after a man fled from police and onto the ice for hours.
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She says the result could have been much worse.
“Very thankful he didn’t fall in and that he was able to get out,” Alicia Miller said.
PHOTOS: First responders work to get man off frozen Allegheny River
She told Channel 11 the ice is estimated to be three to six inches thick, but it can change from spot to spot.
“You can go on ice when it’s four inches thick, however, that is for smooth, clear ice on a lake that is stable,” she said.
On a river, water is still moving underneath. This time of year, it could be just one to three miles per hour. Miller says that’s enough.
“That is causing the ice to have thin spots or they can open fairly quickly to large cracks,” she said. “It’s not safe.”
Her advice is to just stay off.
“It’s going to get really tempting because it’s been a few years since we’ve had ice like this but absolutely do not go out on the ice.”
The man was taken to the hospital in stable condition and is expected to be charged.
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