Maryland State Police airlifted a hunter after they fell 20 to 30 feet from a tree stand in the remote woods of the Cascade Falls Trail in Ellicott City Friday morning.
Troopers said the hunter was in serious pain after they sustained several rib fractures and a possible pelvic fracture after the fall, according to a news release from state police.
A crew of four from the Maryland State Police Aviation Command flew an Augusta AW-139 to transport the injured hunter. Troopers said they could not have driven an ATV to the extraction location due to the extended transport distance and the hunter’s pained state.
Hovering 150 feet in the helicopter, a state trooper deployed to the forest floor where the hunter had fallen, according to the news release. The trooper, also a flight paramedic, used a “PEP bag” to “package the patient” with assistance from members of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, who had requested the Aviation Command team’s involvement.
Responders hoisted the injured hunter into the helicopter, which then flew to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.
The Maryland State Police Aviation Command has been around since 1970. The team operates a fleet of 10 Augusta AW-139 helicopters from seven bases throughout Maryland, according to the news release.