motorcyclist rescue 2

motorcyclist rescue 3

By Mary-Justine Lanyon

The group of motorcyclists was headed down the mountain in the late afternoon of Aug. 9 when one apparently lost control of his bike, hit the guardrail and was thrown over the side of the bridge on Highway 18, just below the Crestline Cutoff.
The initial response to what was called in as a traffic collision came from San Bernardino County Fire Station 25 in Top Town. On board Medic Engine 25 were Capt. Darrel Cornell, Engineer Richard Brummel and Firefighter-Paramedic Johnny Rodola.
They discovered that the motorcyclist had fallen about 100 feet into the canyon below the bridge. The crew descended to the patient and started advanced life support care on the rider, who had significant injuries.
Due to those injuries and the difficult terrain, they called for support from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Air Rescue 306. That helicopter – which had to hover above the scene – was piloted by Sgt. Jon Anderson. Also on board were Deputy Cody Manning, the crew chief; Flight Captain-Paramedic Jay Hausman; and Engineer Paramedic Mike Demoff. The four-man crew is based at San Bernardino International Airport.
Hausman and Demoff were lowered to the patient from the helicopter. “After the rider fell,” Hausman told the Alpine Mountaineer, “he rolled to the other side of the bridge where we found him.”
Once the two were on the ground, they hiked down to the patient, “packaged” him in the litter and got him ready to be hoisted out. However, there was not enough clearance there to get the hook connected to the Stokes basket. The ground crew, Hausman said, “worked him up through the rocks and the creek bed to get him back to the original point where my partner and I were inserted.”
First Hausman, then the victim and finally Demoff were hoisted up into the helicopter.
The victim was flown to the Loma Linda trauma center. Due to HIPAA regulations, Hausman was not able to be more specific on the victim’s injuries but said he would expect him to survive.
During the rescue, traffic was stopped twice – first when Hausman and Demoff were inserted with the basket and then when it was time to extract the victim. “It’s a safety thing for us,” Hausman said. “We don’t want anyone – and especially moving traffic – underneath us while we’re being hoisted.”
As for how they train, Hausman said they go through several months of hands-on training, learning to use the equipment. “We go up into the mountain regions where we do rescues. The crew chief practices inserting us into tight spots. It’s his job to get us safely in and out while he works with the pilot. The pilot is responsible for everyone’s safety.”