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Man Rescued After Falling 25 Feet Over West View Hillside

WEST VIEW (KDKA) – A man was taken to the hospital after falling down a hillside in West View Wednesday afternoon.

The incident happened in the 100-block of Hawthorne Avenue around 1 p.m.

According to EMS officials at the scene, the 61-year-old man was walking when he fell 25 feet over the hillside on a 60-degree slope.

Ken Siebert lives in the West View neighborhood where it happened.

"He came walking by and asked if he could get by me. Something didn't seem right, he kept going. I told him there was no more road there, nothing but woods and hillside. Next thing I know, he disappeared," said Siebert.

Siebert says the man seemed disoriented and told him he wanted to go to the shops in West View, and then he was gone.

"I went over to look because something didn't seem right, and he was yelling for help. I tried to help him, but couldn't get him up. I said hang tight and called for help," Seibert said.

Paramedics and firefighters went down the hill with a stokes basket to pulled him up. They had to do some special rescue maneuvers since he was in a tough spot.

"We were able to get him secured with some rope into that basket," said Greg Porter, the assistant director of West View EMS. "Used a rope system and a variety of tools and manpower to bring him up to get him into an ambulance where he is now."

EMS crews don't know why the man was in the area.

"We're not certain what he was doing," said Porter. "He doesn't live in this particular area, might be under the influence of alcohol and may have some social issues. We think this might be a contributing factor to why he ended up where he was."

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