Shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Garrett County and Grantsville Volunteer fire Department personnel found the injured mountain biker on a remote trail. He reportedly told rescuers he was stranded in the woods for nearly eight hours following the mountain bike accident. The 56-year-old male victim was injured while cycling through Meadow Mountain Trail, a 14-mile trail, which stretches through New Germany State Park and the Savage River State Forest in Garrett County.
Garrett County rescue personnel requested Trooper 5, based out of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command Cumberland Section, for an aerial hoist mission due to the mountain biker’s remote location, the topography, an extended extrication time and the nature of his injuries. Upon the request, Garrett County rescue personnel initiated patient care and stabilized the injured mountain biker.
Once overhead, the crew from Trooper 5 used the Augusta AW-139’s helicopter hoist to lower a trooper/flight paramedic into a clearing below. The trooper/flight paramedic, with assistance from Garrett County rescue personnel, secured the injured mountain biker in a patient extrication platform, commonly known as a “PEP Bag.” The injured mountain biker was hoisted approximately 100 feet in the air, at which time Trooper 5 transitioned to a medevac role and flew the patient to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia for treatment.
The Maryland State Police Aviation Command has served citizens since 1970 and operates a fleet of 10 AW-139 helicopters form seven bases throughout the State. Each aircraft provides coverage 24/7/365 to Maryland residents and visitors. The MSPAC missions include medevac, law enforcement, search and rescue, homeland security, and disaster assessment. The success of these missions relies heavily on the cooperative efforts of local fire, rescue, EMS and law enforcement agencies, as well as our partners at the United States Coast Guard and the United States Park Police.
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CONTACT: Cpl. Jaclyn Pickett – MSPAC Cumberland Section, jaclyn.pickett@maryland.gov
301-777-8400
Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: https://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at https://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at https://so.md/expungeme.