71-year-old rescued after mountain biking crash in Vernon

A 71-year-old senior was taken to hospital yesterday, June 4, following a mountain bike crash at Ellison Provincial Park.

The City of Vernon in a media release said the 71-year-old female crashed while riding the Ellison Connector Mountain Biking Trail shortly after 1 p.m. June 4.

Seven Vernon Fire Service Rescue firefighters came to assist the woman who suffered undetermined injuries in the crash roughly six kilometres from the parking lot.

The female patient was reportedly in "good spirits" throughout the ordeal.

The crew used a newly purchased spine board, a basket stretcher, with a "fat" wheel attached to it, to transport the woman to an ambulance at the parking lot.

"The fat tire is a brand new piece of equipment we’ve recently added to our toolkit," Vernon Fire Service Rescue deputy chief Dwight Seymour said in a media release. "It actually went into service within the last couple weeks and proved to be an exceptionally helpful tool with (yesterday’s) rescue."

The media release says crews were on the scene for roughly two-and-a-half hours, and the female was transported to hospital.

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