Paragliding Crash Victim Rushed To Hospital By Flight For Life
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - Flight for Life rushed a man to the hospital after a paragliding accident Sunday morning. Authorities say a gust of wind caused the paraglider to crash down on the north side of Green Mountain.
Neighbor Art Quirk looked out from his backyard and saw one paraglider make a smooth landing. But the paraglider's friend did not.
"His buddy was cruising along, and it (looked) like he just lost air," said Quirk. "His shoot went limp, and he went right down. And he probably dropped thirty feet. ... He hit pretty hard."
"It sounded like his parachute was flapping," said another witness. "It wasn't catching full wind, and he crashed into the hillside ... I don't know if he broke his legs or broke his back, but he wasn't moving."
Area residents called 911 and quickly ran to help.
"I said, 'what can we get for you?'" said Quirk. "He said morphine. So he was in pain."
Emergency responders carried the injured man down the hill on a gurney. Flight for Life lifted him by air to a nearby hospital.
"Based on the terrain and the access to the patient, it was going to be a very difficult extrication," explained Lt. Erik Devereux of West Metro Fire Rescue. "So we decided that the helicopter would be the best route to get him to the hospital."
Lt. Devereux says the man seemed to be an experienced pilot who was operating a modified paraglider.
"The fact that he did it, I give him a lot of credit," said Quirk. "It takes a lot of guts to do that."
Authorities have not released the extent of the man's injuries at this time, but say it appears that he will recover.
Melissa Garcia has been reporting for CBS4 News since March 2014. Find her bio here, follow her on Twitter @MelissaGarciaTV, or send your story idea to mkgarcia@cbs.com.
