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So who was this?
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/helicopter-666489-medic-ocfa.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.ocregister.com/articles/heli ... -ocfa.html</a>
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – An Orange County Fire Authority helicopter crew rescued a 50-year-old cyclist from the mountainous and wooded Cleveland National Forest Sunday afternoon, after the man was injured in a downhill crash.
The cyclist was riding downhill at a high speed on the San Juan Trail, five miles east of Rancho Santa Magarita, when he spilled from his mountain bike and slammed into the ground, injuring his hip and chest, said OCFA spokesman Steve Concialdi. The man’s friend called 911 at 2:30 p.m., and the OCFA helicopter flew the length of the trail until it located the cyclists at mile marker 6.
While OCFA and U.S. Forest Service firefighters began the six-mile hike from the trail’s base, the helicopter lowered a medic to help the injured man. The medic determined the man was a trauma patient and needed to be flown immediately to Mission Hospital in nearby Mission Viejo. The man and medic were hoisted into the chopper, which then flew to the trauma center.
Only three months ago, this type of rescue would not have been possible. But under a new six-month pilot program that began March 20, the agency boasts increased air support, including a helicopter paramedic on weekends, at an annual cost of $1.5 million.
“This helicopter was worth its weight in gold, because this patient would have been waiting in pain for help if the helicopter hadn’t been able to lower the medic down to the patient,” Concialdi said. “(These types of cyclist rescues) happen every weekend, and sometimes multiple times.”
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/helicopter-666489-medic-ocfa.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.ocregister.com/articles/heli ... -ocfa.html</a>
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – An Orange County Fire Authority helicopter crew rescued a 50-year-old cyclist from the mountainous and wooded Cleveland National Forest Sunday afternoon, after the man was injured in a downhill crash.
The cyclist was riding downhill at a high speed on the San Juan Trail, five miles east of Rancho Santa Magarita, when he spilled from his mountain bike and slammed into the ground, injuring his hip and chest, said OCFA spokesman Steve Concialdi. The man’s friend called 911 at 2:30 p.m., and the OCFA helicopter flew the length of the trail until it located the cyclists at mile marker 6.
While OCFA and U.S. Forest Service firefighters began the six-mile hike from the trail’s base, the helicopter lowered a medic to help the injured man. The medic determined the man was a trauma patient and needed to be flown immediately to Mission Hospital in nearby Mission Viejo. The man and medic were hoisted into the chopper, which then flew to the trauma center.
Only three months ago, this type of rescue would not have been possible. But under a new six-month pilot program that began March 20, the agency boasts increased air support, including a helicopter paramedic on weekends, at an annual cost of $1.5 million.
“This helicopter was worth its weight in gold, because this patient would have been waiting in pain for help if the helicopter hadn’t been able to lower the medic down to the patient,” Concialdi said. “(These types of cyclist rescues) happen every weekend, and sometimes multiple times.”
