Friday, August 29, 2003

By Michael A. Fuoco, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Port Authority police yesterday arrested a 20-year-old Mount Washington woman who they said was intoxicated when she climbed the 635-foot length of the Monongahela Incline before passing out or falling asleep on a ledge at the upper station.

	Nicole Michael after she climbed the length of the Monongahela Incline. (Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette)

The woman, Nicole Michael of Boggs Avenue, was charged with underage drinking and criminal trespass.

Port Authority spokesman Bob Grove said an operator in the upper station noticed that an incline car had grease on it as it moved up the hill, which was unusual. The operator went to investigate and found Michael asleep or passed out on a ledge behind where the incline car comes to rest.

The discovery occurred about 6:05 a.m., 35 minutes after the incline began operations for the day.

Grove said Michael told police she missed the last incline at 12:45 a.m. and climbed up. Grove said Michael would have had to scale a fence to gain entry to the tracks. Additionally, he pointed out the incline has an "incredibly steep" grade of 35 degrees.

"It was a very foolish thing to try. This story could have had a very different ending very easily," Grove said.

Other people have been arrested for trespassing on the property, Grove said, but such instances are rare.

E-mail this story   Print this story