Colorado Springs and county rescuers used motorcycles and a helicopter to reach, stabilize and evacuate a 39-year-old mountain biker who crashed Sunday in the mountains south of Pikes Peak.
The biker apparently hit a tree.
He was conscious but stuck near Jones Park at an elevation of about 7,100 feet. Hikers in the area called for help.
Two Colorado Springs firefighters rode motorcycles 3.5 miles up the Captain Jack Trail to reach the man. He was worried about his 12-year-old daughter back in the city, authorities said, and the firefighters arranged to have a fire truck swing by his home.
El Paso County Search and Rescue members helped move the man on a rolling litter about one mile uphill to a place where a Memorial Hospital helicopter could land. It hauled the man, whose name wasn’t released, to the Memorial emergency room. Doctors were evaluating possible head and spinal injuries.
It was the second recent helicopter evacuation from the Jones Park area southwest of Colorado Springs, following an incident involving a hiker with a hurt leg, fire department incident commander Capt. Don Hawley said.
“We have heavier traffic in that area due to other areas being closed,” Hawley said. “We have hikers and mountain bikers going down all the time.”
