Man frees son from ORV before he plummets over cliff
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2009, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Andria Gonda knew something was wrong with her husband when she spotted her 4-year-old son walking barefoot and alone on a trail in Twelvemile Canyon.

Just minutes before, Bobby and his dad Robert were riding back to camp in a Polaris Razor off-road vehicle after fishing Saturday afternoon in the Sanpete County canyon near Mayfield.

"Daddy fell down the hill," Bobby told his mom.

Andria Gonda began a hurried search for her husband, zigzagging down a 125-foot cliff and yelling his name. She found him bleeding from the head near the vehicle. He asked about Bobby, and after realizing his son was OK, collapsed, she said.

"He was my only concern," Robert Gonda said Tuesday. "My kids mean everything to me."

Saturday's crash is still a little fuzzy for the 37-year-old. The Bluffdale man said he remembers riding in the Razor with his son about 4:30 p.m., braking hard to avoid a rock in the trail and then teetering the vehicle over the steep hill.

Before the vehicle tumbled down the cliff with him on it, Robert Gonda was able to unfasten Bobby's seat belt and push him off the vehicle.

After getting his son out, he said he remembers flipping down the cliff two or three times before losing consciousness.

The Gondas' 12-year-old daughter called 911 and the Sanpete County Sheriff's Office search and rescue team retrieved Robert Gonda from the bottom of the cliff and had him transported to University Hospital.

On Tuesday, Andria Gonda praised her husband as a hero.

"My son wouldn't have made it down that hill," said.

Robert Gonda injured his head and underwent surgery to repair two vertebrae in his neck. He was released from the hospital Monday night and is now resting at home.

"I've felt better," he said. "I'm just happy to be here."

Sanpete County » Father is transported to hospital for surgery on vertebrae.
Article Tools

Enter a search phrase.

Specify a Range

From  to

 

 
Missing your paper? Need to place your paper on vacation hold? For this and any other subscription related needs, click here or call 801.204.6100.