Woman Hospitalized After Backing Vehicle Over Hillside, Crashing In Woods

SHALER (KDKA) -- A woman was taken to the hospital after she backed her vehicle over a hillside in Shaler on Wednesday afternoon.

It happened just before 3 p.m. on Stoneridge Drive.

Shaler Township Police say a 78-year-old woman was backing her vehicle up in her driveway when she accidentally backed through a line of bushes.

Her vehicle went backwards over a steep hill and into a wooded area of Fall Run Park.

Police say her vehicle came to a rest about 200 feet over the hill from her driveway.

The woman's husband, Jack Richardson, there at the time of the incident.

"I pulled in the driveway first and she backed down the driveway, and all of a sudden, [she went] straight ahead and over the hill. We've lived there for 50-some years and never had that happen. It went almost all the way down to the bottom of the falls, you know. But the car had brand-new tires on it," Richardson said.

Emergency responders extricated the driver from her vehicle. She was placed on a stretcher and carried out of the park.

Police say she suffered minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital. She's expected to be OK.

"She's very lucky. We're glad of this outcome. We're still looking into why this happened. We are gonna check the car, make sure everything was working with all systems," Shaler Township Police Lt. Sean Frank said.

The investigation is ongoing.