Man falls off cliff at Pinnacles Youth Park, treated at local hospital
Sturgeon, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man who fell off a cliff at the Pinnacles Youth Park is being treated at a local hospital.
A Boone County Fire Protection District official on the scene told ABC 17 News the man was conscious and breathing as he was being loaded into the ambulance.
Officials were called to the scene shortly after 3 on Saturday afternoon. Multiple witnesses said he was not responsive at the time of the call.
Witnesses told ABC 17 News that the man was wearing Crocs while jumping around from rock to rock with a group of friends. After hitting a loose piece of gravel he lost his balance before falling over the edge. According to the park's website, the 0.8-mile trail has a 114-foot elevation gain.
“There were some guys up there walking around. One was climbing around and jumping around on the rocks. Thinking that what happened was he climbed on over there and lost his footing with some rocks and stuff and they slid down and he couldn't hold on and he just fell," said Joshua Taylor, who was at the Pinnacles Youth Park with his family at the time of the accident.
Rob Humfeld a Cub Master with Cub Scout Pack 7 says proper foot attire is one of the basic things they they teach beginners when hiking.
"We try to encourage the scouts to always have proper footwear. That includes close-toed shoes that have good soles on them for hiking that will be comfortable but also protect the entirety of the foot," Humfeld said.
National Parks data shows there are an estimated 4,000-5,000 injuries related to hiking each year in the U.S. with roughly 75 deaths a year from slips or falls.
ABC 17 crews observed two fire trucks, another Boone County Fire Protection vehicle, an ambulance from the Boone County hospital and over four cars from the Boone County Sheriff's department on-scene.
A spokesperson for Boone Health said the patient was transported to MU Health because it was a trauma situation.
ABC 17 News is still working to find out the name and condition of the victim.
