CORTLANDT – A hiker was rescued by helicopter Sunday after falling 20-30 feet from a ledge in steep terrain in Hudson Highlands State Park, Westchester County police said.
The 45-year-old was hiking alone near Anthony’s Nose peak in terrain rising above Bear Mountain Bridge Road and Route 9D when he fell at about 8:40 a.m., suffering back and leg injuries that left him unable to walk from the area, Westchester County police spokesman Kieran O’Leary said.
The man called 911 on his cell phone and state Park Police, Continental Village firefighters and Westchester County police responded to the scene, along with a rescue team from West Point.
They placed the man on a long board, but the terrain was too steep to carry him out safely, O’Leary said.
“It was just decided that the safest for everybody is to use the helicopter to get him out of there,” he said.
A Westchester County police helicopter operated by Officers Richard Pucillo and Brian Poplawski hovered overhead, lifted the injured man on the board then flew him the short distance over the top of the mountain and deposited him by the road. There, an ambulance transported him across the Bear Mountain Bridge to a waiting medical helicopter, which flew him to Westchester Medical Center.
The injured man’s name, extent of injuries and condition were not available, but O’Leary said he was conscious and alert at the scene.