Published: May 12, 2009 11:59 pm      

88-year-old man falls from Menoher Blvd. hillside

An 88-year-old man fell 150 feet Tuesday while hiking near Grandview Cemetery above Menoher Boulevard, authorities said.

John Hajnik of Windber was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown and admitted around 6 p.m.

“He was walking along Grandview Cemetery and slipped over the embankment,” Southmont Deputy Fire Chief Mike Butler said.

Hajnik’s caregiver, Pat Swaynos of Pomroy Drive, said she had dropped him off near Menoher Boulevard a few hours earlier.

“He likes to go into the woods,” Swaynos said. “He said, ‘pick me up in two hours.’ He has relentless energy.”

Hajnik, who Swaynos said has Parkinson’s disease, apparently lost his footing and fell down the steep hillside. He landed near the roadside fence that prevents rocks and debris from falling onto Menoher Boulevard.

About two dozen rescue workers responded, including Southmont Volunteer Fire Company, West Hills Regional Fire Department, emergency medical services and West Hills Regional police.

“He was lying on the hill behind the retaining fence when a motorist saw him and called 911,” Butler said.

A Conemaugh nursing student, Carlie Frick, was the first to stop, Officer James Stutzman said.

“Just being observant, she looked over and saw him lying there all bloody,” Stutzman said. “She kept him calm so he wouldn’t move.

When rescuers arrived, they came up with two plans to move Hajnik: Either lift the man over the retaining fence using a ladder truck or carry him to a point where the fence ends. That required moving him over rocks that fell from the hillside two weeks ago, Butler said.

“We passed him in the Stokes basket along the rocks,” he said.

Butler called the rescue “treacherous.”

Hajnik’s condition at the hospital was not immediately available.

Swaynos said she found Hajnik wandering the streets about three years ago and took him in.

“I said, ‘John, come live with me. I’ll take care of you,’ ” she said.

She said Hajnik has been lost in woods before but found his way out. This time was far different, she said.

“This is it,” she said. “No more.”