One is injured and one is dead in several mountain bike accidents north of Durango

Incidents included a rescue from Junction Creek and a potential medical issue at Purgatory Resort

The Durango Fire Protection District responded to two separate reports of mountain bike accidents Saturday, leaving one person injured and stranded at Junction Creek and another person found unresponsive at Purgatory Resort.

Emergency responders located and rescued a person in their 50s in Junction Creek. DFPD Battalion Chief Jim Anderson said the person fell off a trail and fell 130-150 feet into the creek.

A man at the Purgatory Resort, believed to be in his 50s or 60s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

At approximately 2:30 p.m., DFPD received a call about the man at Purgatory Resort. The man appeared to have had an accident while riding his mountain bike, Anderson said. The man reportedly exhibited seizure-like symptoms as he drove past others. After his bike tipped over and he fell to the ground, he was found to have no pulse.

A fire engine, a medical unit and an emergency services captain were dispatched to the scene, where emergency responders treated the man for cardiac arrest. Anderson said a helicopter was requested from Flight For Life Lifeguard 5 Base at Mercy Hospital, but the request was canceled because the patient did not respond to treatment and was pronounced dead.

Anderson said emergency dispatchers were alerted to the crash in Junction Creek just before 1 p.m. Four fire extinguishers and seven or eight crew members were sent to the crash site.

“Our teams went in, bundled up the patient, then set up a rope system to get him back on the path and then used the bike to get him back to the ambulance,” he said.

Rescuing the patient from the creek side took about 20 minutes. Once the patient was placed on a rough terrain transport device similar to a mountain bike with a steel platform, transporting the patient to an ambulance took another 20 to 30 minutes, Anderson said. The patient was then transported to Mercy Hospital.

When the emergency services arrived, several passers-by were already on site, he said. They couldn’t call 911 because there was no adequate cell phone service, but they were able to send a text message.

Crews located the patient using Global Positioning System coordinates, Anderson said.

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