On October 14, 2000, about 1612 Eastern Daylight Time, a Cessna 172G, N4352L, was substantially damaged while landing at the Jefferson County Airport, Steubenville, Ohio. The certificated private pilot was seriously injured, while a pilot-rated passenger and two other passengers received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot-rated passenger, who was seated in the right front seat of the airplane at the time of the accident, stated that the pilot entered the traffic pattern for Runway 32, a 3,320 foot long, 60-foot wide, asphalt runway. While landing, as the airplane entered ground effect, the left wing suddenly lifted skyward, and the airplane touched down hard on the right main landing gear. The airplane was then "pushed" off the runway by the crosswind, at a speed of 65 knots, and the propeller impacted a runway light. The pilot applied full power, with 40 degrees of flaps, and the airplane began to climb. The passenger recalled observing a positive rate of climb of 500 feet-per-minute on the vertical speed indicator, but the airspeed decreased to 45 knots and the stall warning horn was sounding. The pilot raised the flaps from full deflection to 30 degrees, and the right wing impacted a tree. The wing struck a second tree, and the airplane descended to the ground. According to a witness, the accident airplane took off and left the airport area for about 1 hour. The airplane then returned, and the pilot attempted to land on Runway 32. The winds were variable at 8-9 mph, as indicated by the windsock. As the airplane touched down, it was "riding" on the right main landing gear. The airplane then struck a runway light, and the remaining landing gear touched down. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and went off a 70-foot embankment. Review of the pilot's logbook revealed that he had accumulated about 78 hours of total flight experience, of which 3.5 hours were in Cessna 172's. The pilot-rated passenger did not report any malfunctions with either the airframe or engine. The winds recorded at a nearby airport at 1553, were from 210 degrees at 7 knots.