This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A man was in critical condition Wednesday night after crashing his paraglider in the mountains several miles east of the University of Utah, authorities said.
Three hikers who saw the paraglider go down about 8:15 p.m. immediately called 911 and hiked uphill toward him, Salt Lake City Fire Department spokeswoman Audra Sorensen said. The man was flying alone, and he crashed somewhere far beyond the top of the popular Living Room trail.
"It was very fortunate those hikers were up there and saw him go down," Sorensen said.
The man was in critical condition at University Hospital late Wednesday evening; he was not responsive when rescuers reached him, she said.
About a dozen rescuers trekked toward the crash scene, following the hikers, and were eventually picked up and dropped closer to the man in a medical helicopter, Sorensen said. They carried him partway down the mountain to a safe place for the chopper to land.
The helicopter, Sorensen said, also ended up lifting off the mountain the rescuers who otherwise would have faced a treacherous descent after dark.
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