A paraglider who crashed west of Wonderland Lake in Boulder and suffered critical injuries was alive and receiving treatment Sunday, Boulder County sheriff authorities said.
The man suffered head injuries and broken bones in the crash Saturday at the Wonderland Lake site in north Boulder, Sgt. Sam Hard said.
“He’s being treated still at St. Anthony’s Hospital,” Hard said. “We heard he’s still in the hospital being treated and he is alive.”
The man jumped from a site in north Boulder that includes three launch areas. The Rocky Mountain Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association has deemed the large landing zone at Wonderland Lake the best site on Colorado’s Front Range for learning to fly using a hang glider or paraglider. From the upper launch area, a glider can descend for as much as 600 vertical feet.
Rescuers on Saturday climbed to the scene of the crash in rough terrain and hauled the man to safety. The sheriff’s office listed the man in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
The aircraft was a “powered parachute” that went down in mountainous terrain west of Wonderland Lake, according to an Aviation Safety Network bulletin on the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were notified, according to sheriff’s office staffers.
Boulder sheriff’s detectives were expected to look into what happened.
