TEMECULA (CNS) – A hiker suffered injuries today while traversing a
trail south of Temecula, requiring a sheriff’s helicopter crew to rescue him.
The “hiker down” call was received about 3:15 p.m. in the area of
Rainbow Canyon Road and Rainbow Valley Boulevard, just north of the boundary
separating Riverside and San Diego counties, according to the Riverside County
Fire Department.
Fire officials said the man, whose name was not disclosed, suffered an
unspecified injury that prevented him from making his way back to the
trailhead, at which point good Samaritans called 911.
Fire crews reached the area about 30 minutes later and initiated a
search, but because of the remote location where the hiker became stranded, a
battalion chief requested assistance from a sheriff’s STAR-9 helicopter crew,
officials said.
The chopper crew retrieved the victim shortly after 4 p.m. and took
him to a waiting ambulance parked outside the Pechanga Resort Casino in
Temecula, from where he was taken to a regional trauma center for treatment.
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