FREDERIKSTED — The crew of a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter conducted the medical evacuation of two injured people from the Carambola zip-line platform in St. Croix.
Rescued were Jason Bomar, 58, and Jeanne Glidewell, 32, both U.S. citizens, after they sustained multiple injuries associated with a high-speed collision on the zip-line on Friday.
“This case highlights the importance of teamwork,” said Lt. David Tirado Tolosa, Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk aircraft commander for the medevac. “It was a complex location to hoist two injured persons, but our crew and the local rescue personnel did an amazing job stabilizing them which allowed us to conduct the hoists safely. We are very glad to have transported these patients to receive the medical care they required.”
Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received a communication from St. Croix Rescue personnel requesting Coast Guard assistance to conduct the medevac due to the complexities associated with access, including the zip-line platform reported to be 200-feet in the air and surrounded by challenging terrain and robust vegetation, to safely remove the patients and transport them to the hospital. Coast Guard watchstanders directed the launch of an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Air Station Borinquen to conduct the medevac, while on-scene St. Croix Rescue and St. Croix Fire Department personnel administered first aid and stabilized the patients for transport.
Once on scene, the Coast Guard helicopter crew deployed their rescue swimmer to the platform to prepare the patients for hoisting. Using a rescue litter, the Coast Guard aircrew conducted multiple hoists to bring the man and woman safely aboard the aircraft, and then recovered the rescue swimmer.
Following the hoists, the Coast Guard aircrew transported the patients to the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they were received by awaiting Emergency Medical Service personnel, who completed their transport to the Centro Medico Hospital in San Juan.
