March 21--A man suffered two broken legs after falling from a canyon in Starved Rock State Park Friday afternoon, officials said.
Utica Fire Protection District firefighters found the man at about 5:15 p.m. after receiving a call that someone had fallen from a waterfall in Wildcat Canyon, said Assistant Chief Ed Rogers.
Firefighters brought the man, who was conscious but had open fractures, to the bank of the Illinois River and Ottawa River Rescue helped bring him across the river where he could be taken for further treatment, said Rogers and Ottawa River Rescue president Brian Brenbarger.
The man was airlifted to a hospital in Peoria about an hour after firefighters were on the scene, Rogers said.
Rogers said he did not know what the man was doing before he fell but "they were probably somewhere they shouldn't be," he said.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources Spokesman Chris Young said Illinois Conservation Police were heading to Starved Rock to investigate the incident.
