Columbia/Marietta/West Hempfield Township, PA — Emergency responders across Lancaster County handled a string of incidents from Saturday evening into early Sunday morning, according to publicly broadcast dispatch audio, including a technical rescue along a riverside trail, a report of a person in distress on a bridge, and a chain of crashes that shut down part of Route 30.
Note: This account is based on scanner/dispatch radio traffic captured through a public dispatch-audio app. It has not been verified against official incident reports and details may be incomplete or change as more information becomes available.
Wheelchair user injured after 30-foot fall from trail
Around 4:40 p.m. Saturday, crews were dispatched to the NW River Trail in Marietta for what radio traffic described as a possible environmental or technical rescue. According to the transmissions, a person using a wheelchair went off the trail and down a ditch roughly 30 feet, sustaining a head laceration and bleeding.
Multiple units responded, including County QRS 10, Utility 10 and UTV 10, County Ladder 8, County Ambulance 565, and Air Med 862. Responders determined the situation did not require a high-angle rescue but was reclassified as an environmental rescue. Crews identified the Bank Street access point as the best way to reach the patient, and Norfolk Southern was notified to halt train traffic in the area as a precaution, given the trail's proximity to the rail line.
Person reported in emotional distress on Wrights Ferry Bridge
Just after midnight Sunday, dispatchers sent units to Route 30 East on the Wrights Ferry Bridge in West Hempfield Township for a report of a person experiencing an emotional crisis. The call was logged as a medical emergency.
Multi-vehicle crash, including a rollover, closes Route 30 westbound
Shortly before 12:43 a.m., dispatch reported "multiple accidents" on Route 30 westbound near the Third Street exit, including a rollover crash. Radio traffic showed dispatchers working to clarify which direction of the highway needed to close, ultimately confirming westbound lanes were shut down at the Third Street exit to allow crews to work the scene.
Route 30 westbound shut down again in Columbia Borough for traffic control
About five minutes later, a separate transmission indicated Route 30 westbound near mile marker 254.1 in Columbia Borough was being shut down for traffic control, with responding units cross-confirming they were closing the westbound side — not the eastbound lanes toward Wrightsville — after some initial confusion over which direction had been requested by neighboring York County units.
Drivers ignore cones at Wrightsville off-ramp
As crews worked the closures, a unit identified as "412" radioed for additional help at the Wrightsville off-ramp, reporting that drivers were attempting to drive around traffic cones set up to redirect traffic. Because the responding lieutenant was off duty, dispatch coordinated mutual aid, discussing whether additional units should cross via the Route 462 bridge or the Route 30 bridge to reach the location.
This article was compiled from live dispatch audio transcripts and is not an official report. Readers seeking confirmed details should contact Lancaster County emergency officials or local police and fire departments directly.
