April 26--A 19-year-old Naperville woman was critically injured after falling 25 feet from a canyon ledge in a restricted area of Starved Rock State Park on Sunday afternoon, officials said.
"She was in a lot of pain," said Illinois Conservation police Sgt. Hank Frazier. He said she is listed in critical condition at St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford.
The woman was climbing off the marked trail in a restricted area of Wildcat Canyon with two other friends at 12:34 p.m. when she accidentally fell off slick sandstone, Frazier said. The park is in LaSalle County about an hour and a half southwest of Chicago.
"They climbed up the side of the canyon, and when she got up on a ledge she slipped and fell down the canyon walls," Frazier said. "That sandstone can be just like ice, especially when it's wet and humid."
Several other hikers called 911. When emergency crews got to the victim, 25 feet below, she was packed up in a backboard and carried across the river in a boat to reach a waiting helicopter, which then airlifted her to Rockford, Frazier said.
Utica Fire Chief Edward Rogers earlier said the victim was "conscious and alert" at the scene.
The woman, who was wearing street clothes, had been with a larger group when she and the two companions, a 19-year-old man from Aurora, and an 18-year-old Naperville woman, went off by themselves to climb.
The victim's companions were issued misdemeanor citations for unlawful entry into a restricted area, Frazier said.
"The signs are in place for a reason,'' Frazier said. "It's very dangerous."
