Archive for Tuesday, September 2, 2008

2 girls injured in ATV rollover accident

Wreck happened Saturday near Hahn's Peak; 1 girl flown to Denver

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— An all-terrain vehicle rollover Saturday near the base of Hahn's Peak left two teenage girls injured, Routt County Search and Rescue member Darrel Levingston said.

Levingston did not release the girls' names. One was seriously injured and was taken to Yampa Valley Medical Center and then flown to Denver for treatment, he said. The other girl was less severely injured and was taken to Yampa Valley Medical Center.

Levingston did not know the cause of the rollover. The girls were riding with a group of people on ATVs, and their companions called in the wreck at about 1 p.m.

"They were on a trail to begin with," Levingston said. "I think it was a Forest Service road, I'm not sure what number, and they went off of the road and rolled down the hill quite a ways."

Rescuers from North Routt Fire Protection District and Ambulance were the first on the scene, but Search and Rescue commanded the incident, he said. North Routt Chief Bob Reilley could not be reached for comment. Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue, state parks officials and Steamboat Lake Outfitters also responded to the incident, Levingston said. Ty Upson was the incident commander.

Although Levingston did not know the cause, he said alcohol was not a factor.

"I can pretty much 100 percent say that was not involved," he said.

He did not know whether the injured girls were wearing protective gear on the ATVs.

"I want to let people know that even though it's a really fun sport, it's also a dangerous sport, and caution and training should always be taken with doing that," Levingston said.

Fire and Rescue received two calls Sunday, he said.

A family that was hiking in the Allen Basin Reservoir area of South Routt became disoriented at about 2 p.m. and called for assistance. The party included one or two adults and five children ages 7 to 14, Levingston said.

"Before we took any action, they found the trail, and they were OK," he said.

At about 7 p.m., Routt County rescuers got a call about a lost hiker. A man and his adult twin sons had set up camp, and the man got turned around on a solo hike he took while his sons were hunting.

The location was in Moffat County, Levingston said, so local officials turned the call over to the Moffat County Sheriff's Office. Authorities found the hiker by determining his general location and setting up at a nearby high point, sounding sirens and flashing lights.

"It's called finding by attraction," Levingston said.

All the people who put in calls Sunday were fine and in good health, he said. Other people who plan to recreate outdoors should take a lesson from the incident in Moffat, Levingston said.

"When he went into woods, he had a pack," he said of the hiker. "He had food, water and a knife, but he had no way to make fire."

That isn't wise, Levingston said. Bow-hunting season started Saturday, and the other hunting seasons are approaching. That makes preparation even more important, he said.

"Anyone who goes out into woods even for a one-hour hike should always go out prepared to spend the night," Levingston said. "Of all the things you can take with you to get through a night, the ability to start a fire is probably the key point."

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