SAN FRANCISCO — A highway patrol officer/paramedic remained in the intensive care unit Wednesday after being injured by the rotor blades of a helicopter as he helped rescue an injured hiker.
Tony Stanley was one of two officers called out to pick up a hiker who had broken a leg and dislocated an ankle in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Northern California last Thursday.
After the helicopter landed on a granite rock next to a steep embankment, Stanley was hit by the aircraft’s rotor blades as he started to climb up the embankment to get to the hiker, Air Force doctor Jeremy Kilburn.
Kilburn ended up giving medical assistance to Stanley, which helped save his life, according to reports.
CBS News reported Stanley is still receiving treatment at the ICU.
Recalling the incident, Kilburn told the station his “brain caught on fire” when he was told what had happened to his rescuer.
“I just wanted to be down there and do what I could do to save his life,” he said.
He told the station he couldn’t remember any pain from his leg as he and another hiker ran down the hill to give aid to Stanley.
“I just remember I wanted to get there,” he said.