By Rachel Cook
Idaho Falls Post Register
CACHE VALLEY, Utah — Rescuers carried an injured Utah man to safety Sunday after a motorcycle accident.
Bonneville County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Edwards said Troy Sterr, 52, of Cache Valley, Utah, was badly injured when he fell from a motorcycle five miles north of the Burns Creek trailhead at about 5:20 p.m. Saturday.
Two people who were with Sterr said he put his foot down on the downhill side of the trail and the ground gave way, causing him to fall 20 feet down an embankment. During the fall, Sterr’s head hit a rock, cracking his helmet. He rolled another 20 feet into the creek, a sheriff’s office report said.
Sterr’s companions helped get him out of the creek and called 911, Edwards said. The report said Sterr told them his back hurt and that he couldn’t feel or move his legs. Jefferson Central Fire District Emergency Medical Services workers, Bonneville County Search and Rescue volunteers, Idaho Falls paramedics, Air Idaho flight medics and Bonneville County sheriff’s deputies responded to the call.
Life Flight attempted to pick up Sterr but could not land at the accident site, Edwards said. Medics treated Sterr at the scene of the accident and carried him out in a rescue basket. Edward said it took rescuers about four hours to carry out Sterr, who weighs about 260 pounds. He was brought out of the area at 1 a.m. Sunday.
Sterr was taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center by helicopter and flown to Utah on Sunday morning for further surgery, Edwards said.
Sterr’s injuries are severe, including a crushed vertebrae and a possibly severed spinal cord, Edwards said.
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