MOUNT OLYMPUS, Utah – A couple of hikers saved a man’s life Wednesday after he was injured on Mount Olympus Trail.
Police said the victim slipped and hit his head on a rock, which knocked him unconscious.
Fortunately for the injured man, a doctor who is also a hiker, John Hibbs, came upon him within minutes and was able to stabilize the man.
“We realized immediately he was still alive and breathing deeply and regularly,” Hibbs said. “Then our concern was, did he suffer spinal injury? We didn't want to move him. We didn't want to worsen the injuries so, we kept him in place until the paramedics arrived.”
Another hiker ran down the trail and lead rescuers back to the injured 61-year-old man. Hiker Matt Woolf said the victim started to recover as they helped him down the trail.
“He was starting to become more aware, and that made me feel better,” he said. “On the way down he was making jokes and goofing around.”
Rescuers carried the victim for about a mile. He was treated at the scene. Det. Jared Richardson, Unified Police Department, said the trail made the rescue tricky.
“This is one of the more difficult trails we have in Salt Lake County, so bringing someone down on stokes is difficult for search and rescue, but that's what they are trained to do, and we have a number of personnel up there to make sure he could get down safely,” he said.
Woolf said things could have ended differently, and he said he was happy to see people helping others in a time of trouble.
“It was really cool to see that people would stop and take time out of their day and what they are doing to help someone who had just fallen down on the trail,” he said.
