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Md. first responders rescue hiker who fell off cliff onto top of train tunnel

A Maryland State Police medevac crew lifted the injured hiker from a wooded area in Carroll County

By Brennan Stewart
Baltimore Sun

SYKESVILLE, Md. — An injured hiker slipped and fell from the top of a cliff onto a train tunnel in Sykesville Friday, and was rescued with the help of a Maryland State Police helicopter.

Carroll County rescue personnel responded shortly after 3 p.m. to the area of Gaither Road and Railroad Avenue in Sykesville, where the hiker had fallen about 20 feet down a wooded ditch and landed on top of a train tunnel, according to a state police news release.

Because of the terrain, the Maryland State Police Aviation Command sent a helicopter crew from the Martin State Airport in Middle River. The pilot hovered 120 feet above paramedics as they performed a trauma assessment and placed the hiker in a patient extrication platform bag.

The helicopter was in the air for roughly 15 to 20 minutes Friday, according to 1st Sgt. James Lyles. Lyles said in an interview that an ambulance would have taken longer than a helicopter to retrieve and transport the patient; a small utility vehicle was needed to assist with moving rescue equipment to the location of the fall.

The hiker was injured but flown in stable condition to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. No further information was released about the hiker’s identity or condition Monday.

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