Nursing student jumps from overpass to avoid truck

Nursing student jumps from overpass to avoid truck

A Salem woman, a senior nursing student at Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania, and two others were seriously injured early Monday when they were forced to jump off an Interstate 79 overpass to avoid being hit by a tractor trailer truck.

Alissa Boyle, 22, of Salem, and another Waynesburg student nurse, Cami Abernethy, 21, of Sewickley, Pa., were in fair condition in Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., this morning. They were listed critical when admitted Monday.

The women were on their way to Ruby Memorial for advanced training at Ruby Memorial when they stopped to help at the scene of an accident shortly after 6 a.m. on I-79 in Perry Township, according to the Waynesburg, Pa. Observer Reporter.

While they were assisting Derek Hartzog, 21, of Washington, Pa., whose Jeep Cherokee had rolled over several times and came to rest in the middle lane of the overpass, all three were forced to jump off the overpass to the ground 40 or 50 feet below, to avoid being hit by the truck.