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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pitt coach had feared the worst

PITTSBURGH – Pitt men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon feared there were no survivors when he hastily stopped his car to pull a woman through a broken windshield of an SUV that crashed in front of him.

Dixon, the first motorist to pull over after the wreck Saturday night on Interstate 279 north of Pittsburgh, initially heard no sounds from inside the vehicle. He also smelled smoke caused by the air bags deploying.

“My initial thought was that nobody was going to survive,” Dixon said Monday.

Dixon received minor cuts on his hands as he helped Diane Robinson, 48, of Zelienople, Pa., escape by prying back the windshield. Once she was out, Dixon remained with another female passenger until emergency workers arrived and removed her from the vehicle.

According to state police, the driver fled the scene.

“You just knew there were going to be some injuries,” he said. “I’m just glad everybody seems to be all right and there were no deaths.”