EDIT: The driver of the vehicle suffered more serve injuries than intitally thought, the Morgantown Police Department said on social media Tuesday morning.
MORGANTOWN — Three people were taken to the hospital Monday after a boulder fell onto Monongahela Boulevard striking a vehicle and a PRT car.
The driver of the Hyundai that was hit was taken to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, as were two people who were on a PRT car, which struck the boulder, Morgantown Fire Chief Mark Caravasos said. WVU confirmed in a release that the PRT passengers are university students. Their names were not immediately available. Morgantown Communications Specialist Michaela Martin said their injuries are minor.
The boulder fell from the hillside along Monongahela Boulevard, about 500 yards past Eighth Street.
Upon impact, the boulder split into smaller pieces, one striking the Hyundai and another going through the fence onto the PRT tracks, where it was hit by a PRT car, Caravasos said.
“I was just driving down and you just see all the rocks just fly across the road,” Jonathan Good said.
Good and a few others, worried more rocks would come down, were going to move the driver of the car, since it was smoking, but were told not to by 911. He said the woman was awake, bleeding and in pain.
A large portion of the PRT car was removed to safely evacuate the PRT occupants, according to WVU. The PRT was closed following the incident Monday, which happened at about 3:30 p.m. It will also be closed between Beechurst and Engineering Tuesday. Buses will run between Beechurst and Engineering stations. Pick-up will be at Life Sciences Building and Evansdale Crossing.
Damien Davis, Morgantown city engineer, said he’s sure the weather had something to do with the boulder falling down. He said the ground has hardly frozen this winter and when it does, it quickly thaws — leaving cracks.
Dave Bowers, AccuWeather senior meteorologist, said the first nine of 10 days of February have had measurable precipitation.
Davis estimated the boulder fell from about 500-600 feet. He said the West Virginia Division of Highways is responsible for cleaning up the boulders and determining if the road is safe to reopen.
The DOH was on scene Monday evening, and a DOH employee said an end loader was coming to clear the boulders from the road. Monongahela Boulevard was closed from Eight Street to Patteson Drive while the boulders were cleaned up.
The road was reopened at about 6:30 p.m.
On Jan. 21, 1983, a large landslide occurred in the same area, according to The Dominion Post archive.
