A man fell from a tree on the New Jersey side of the Delaware Water Gap National Park early Tuesday morning and was flown by helicopter to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.
Coast Guard Lt. Mark Bruno said that about 3 a.m. New Jersey State Police requested the assistance of a Coast Guard helicopter to transport the young man to the hospital. Bruno declined to release the extent of the man's injuries due to HIPAA regulations.
The Coast Guard helicopter, an MH-65 Dolphin based in Atlantic City, flew the patient to the Allentown hospital, however, the landing pad at the hospital was too small for the helicopter. A section of parking lot was cleared and the Coast Guard rotorcraft landed there around 6:40 a.m.
Lt. Bruno said while completing the transport the helicopter's fuel levels dropped below Coast Guard standards, so the rotorcraft is temporarily grounded until more fuel is transported to the site. Air Station Atlantic City may also give the all clear for the helicopter to fly to an approved refueling site.
The USCG Air Station is located at the William J. Hughes Federal Aviation Administration Technical Center at the Atlantic City International Airport.
Source: http://www.mcall.com
WATCH: Coast Guard hoists hurt hiker 110 feet into helicopter
Tuesday morning's helicopter rescue of a hurt hiker who fell in New Jersey's Worthington State Forest marked a departure from the norm for the U.S. Coast Guard, according to the military branch.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that it dispatched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter at the request of New Jersey State Park Police, who were unable to safely get the hiker to an ambulance because of his injuries and the terrain.
The hiker – identified as Christopher Cava, 19, of Belmawr, New Jersey – suffered serious injuries after falling about eight feet from a tree near Sunfish Pond in Hardwick Township, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the agency with state park oversight.
Park police stayed with Cava to care for him overnight, the DEP said. The request went out early Tuesday morning for a helicopter to assist and the Coast Guard responded.
"Due to the terrain in the area, the helicopter crew performed the hoist at an altitude of 110 feet, whereas typical hoists at sea are performed at altitudes of 30-50 feet," the Coast Guard said in a statement.
The rescue, depicted in a video released Tuesday afternoon by the Coast Guard, also involved hoisting a local paramedic who was providing medical care to the hike, according to the statement.
The helicopter crew transferred the survivor to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, but further complications loomed.
The helicopter was unable to land on the helipad due to an EMS helicopter already being parked there, the Coast Guard says. Instead, it landed in a nearby parking lot, where the hiker was transferred via ambulance to the hospital.
The Coast Guard says Cava remained at the hospital to receive further medical care, but neither the Coast Guard nor the DEP could provide his medical condition as of Tuesday evening.
The DEP earlier Tuesday said Cava was taken to Morristown Medical Center, not Lehigh Valley Hospital. A DEP spokesman, however, said Tuesday evening the initial report it received on the hospital that accepted Cava was likely wrong.
Source: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com
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