A hiker who spent hours trapped and badly injured under a nearly 10,000lb boulder on a remote California mountainside has spoken out about the ordeal, saying he thought to himself: “I’m going to die up here.”
Kevin DePaolo was hiking with a friend in the Inyo mountains earlier this month when the rock unexpectedly dislodged, he told the New York Times in one of his first interviews since the accident on 5 December.
It crushed his legs and came to a stop on his right leg. The mishap left DePaolo stuck with serious injuries and intense pain for 10 hours, and required a huge effort by rescuers to free him.
DePaolo, an experienced hiker, said he was digging in the sand on a hillside near Santa Rita Flat looking for rocks when the boulder came loose and landed on him, which he said felt like “getting hit by a fridge”. His friend, Joshua Nelson rushed to DePaolo’s aid, using a pickaxe to try to prevent the boulder from further crushing him.
Nelson was able to free DePaolo’s badly injured left leg, which had been torn open, exposing muscles and bone.
Authorities deployed Inyo county search and rescue to help free DePaolo. Crews arrived in the area after dark, around 10pm, and found DePaolo trapped by a boulder weighing between 6,000 and 10,000lb.
They used a system of ropes and pulleys to move the boulder enough to free DePaolo, the search and rescue team said in a statement. After assessing his injuries, rescuers determined he needed to be evacuated immediately.
A helicopter from a US naval air station arrived to transport DePaolo to a hospital. A US navy medic rappelled from the helicopter and brought him up into the vehicle. He was transported to a hospital in Fresno.
DePaolo’s pelvis was cracked in two places and the femoral artery in his left leg was severed. He may have nerve damage, but he did not break any bones in his legs and doctors were able to save his leg. In a few months, he will be able to walk again, he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“I’m just extremely grateful to be alive,” he told the Times.
