ELYRIA, Ohio — A 10-year-old girl is in the hospital after falling from a popular hiking spot in Elyria. Rescue crews pulled the child from the rocks near the West Falls at Cascade Park Thursday afternoon.
Photos shared by the Elyria Fire Department show the rescue in-progress near the Lake Avenue Bridge. Lorain County Metro Parks rangers initially responded to a call for a child who fell at Cascade Park around 3 p.m.
When rangers arrived, they found the girl had fallen about 15 feet to a precarious spot between some large boulders and the Black River. She had an injured arm and signs of a possible head injury.
Elyria firefighters responded to help stabilize the child and pull her to safety. The rescue operation took roughly 40 minutes.
“If anyone’s ever watching an incident unfold like this, it looks like it’s in slow motion. But everything is done for patient and rescuer safety,” explained Elyria Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Szabo.
The girl was safely removed and flown to MetroHealth Hospital by LifeFlight.
“She was going in and out of consciousness. And at the time, crews determined LifeFlight should be called. So they set up a landing zone in the park,” Szabo said.
He told News 5 that the fire department trains in the steep ravines near Cascade Park to prepare for similar incidents, explaining many hikers stray from the designated trails and end up in dangerous situations.
“We go down there and we train in those locations. It’s nothing new. Every year, multiple times a year, we’ll go down to the park and get someone out of harm’s way,” he said.
Hikers said it’s common to go off-trail at the park to get closer to the river.
“Here you can go off of the trail, you can climb on the rocks, you can put your feet in the water. That is the best part of it,” said Patty Roman, who used to hike the park as a child and now brings her children and grandchildren along.
Lorain County Metro Parks sent the following statement to News 5:
“At this time, we are unclear how the child accessed this off-trail area. Rock climbing and off-trial activities are prohibited in our parks as a safety precaution. We encourage exploration and adventure but remind visitors to do so with safety in mind. We are hopeful that this child makes a quick recovery, and we are extremely grateful for the quick and collaborative efforts from all of the first responding agencies.”
Szabo said he realizes not all hikers will follow the guidelines from the Metro Parks. He encourages anyone walking off-trail to use common sense.
“Don’t go off on these locations alone. Let someone know where you’re going to be. Be where you’re supposed to be,” he said. “Just think of your own personal safety. We’re the insurance policy for that but we don’t want anything bad to happen to anybody.”
Some hikers said the incident won’t discourage them from enjoying the park, but they agreed that safety is key.
“It’s a great park. You just have to be safe, that’s all,” said Adam Roman.
By Friday afternoon, the latest condition of the child who fell Thursday had not been released.
