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Sheriff’s deputies save suspected overdosing driver who crashed near Washington County Courthouse

By Mike Jones 3 min read
article image - Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
A sheriff’s vehicle sits parked outside the Washington County Courthouse on West Cherry Alley in the city.

Four sheriff’s deputies sprung into action Monday afternoon to save a woman who had apparently overdosed on drugs and crashed her vehicle near the Washington County Courthouse.

The woman was driving on West Cherry Alley near the courthouse entrance shortly after 2 p.m. when she became unconscious and rammed into the metal bollard posts blocking traffic from the sidewalk leading to the county jail, Chief Deputy Tony Mosco said.

A person who witnessed the crash went into the courthouse to alert deputies, who rushed outside and found the woman unresponsive and slumped behind the wheel, Mosco said.

The deputies pulled her out of the vehicle and began performing CPR on her while another deputy went to get naloxone – the opioid antidote that reverses overdoses – to save her life. Mosco said they were able to revive the woman and she was taken by ambulance to UPMC Washington Hospital for treatment.

“As soon as they were notified, they ran out and acted very quickly,” Mosco said. “They did what they were trained to do. They did an excellent job.”

Mosco declined to identify the woman, but said Washington police are investigating the incident.

City police Chief Steve Devenney declined to say whether the woman would be charged because they were waiting on the results of blood tests taken at the hospital to determine what, if any, drugs she was under the influence of at the time. He said the quick actions by the sheriff’s deputies and others at the scene likely saved the woman’s life.

“It’s life-saving and valuable minutes that have a big difference in the end,” Devenney said.

A couple hours after the crash, county workers made repairs to the base of one of the four bollard posts on the sidewalk at the sharp left-hand turn on West Cherry Alley. Had the pillars not stopped the woman’s vehicle, she may have continued on and rolled into the first floor of the county jail. After hitting the bollards, the woman’s vehicle careened into a sheriff’s office SUV parked nearby, although it sustained only minor damage, Mosco said. It was not immediately known how fast the woman was traveling at the time of the impact, but Mosco said it was forceful enough to cause the airbags in her vehicle to deploy.

Mosco praised the work of the deputies for sweeping in and saving the woman’s life.

“They did a very good job pulling her out and immediately starting CPR as other deputies were getting (naloxone),” Mosco said. “They worked as a team.”

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