Visitor Injured in Fall Airlifted out of ‘Iao Valley

‘Iao Valley rescue, August 10, 2012. Photo credit, Fabiola Gosselin.

By Wendy Osher

A female visitor from California was airlifted out of ‘Iao Valley after falling from a ledge near the river bank this afternoon.

Emergency crews were dispatched to the scene at 3:37 p.m. where they responded to reports of a woman who had fallen and was unresponsive on the river bank, authorities said.

According to medics, Fire crews from Engine 1 out of Wailuku found the woman about one mile up the trail with multiple traumatic injuries.

Bystanders in the area told authorities that the woman was standing on a ledge at the river bank when it gave way and caused the woman to fall approximately 10 feet where she stuck her head on a rock below, said Ryan Joslin, Public Information Officer for the Maui County Paramedics Association.

The woman was airlifted out of the trail area to an awaiting paramedic unit on scene.

She was then transported to the Maui Memorial Medical Center in serious condition with head injuries, while receiving trauma care by an attending paramedic, said Joslin.