An Arizona was seriously injured when a large boulder slid onto a mountain road and landed on top of him.
The 27-year-old man from Phoenix and a group of four other men were reportedly attempting to reach the top of Mount Elden in Flagstaff in order to do some work on a radio tower Tuesday morning. They had to move a different massive boulder in order to reach the top.
Suddenly, a different 30-ton boulder detached from the mountain face and slid down the side, falling on top of the unidentified 27-year-old man. According to USA Today, the Coconino County sheriff’s office said that the man suffered severe injuries to his legs and pelvis.
The other men immediately called emergency services. When responders arrived, they were shocked to find that they had managed to remove the man from beneath the boulder by themselves.
"I'm not exactly sure how they did it," Fire Department Capt. Brian Parker said, in a report by Yahoo News. "Just the fact they were able to get it off him was impressive, and it made our job a whole lot easier. Anytime there's any kind of crushing injuries like that where they're trapped, the sooner the better to get them out."
Parker went on to say that the man was alert when they arrived to help him, though it was clear that he was in a lot of pain.
Thunderstorms had washed out parts of the road going up the mountain, preventing most vehicles from reaching the site. The man was taken back down the mountain in one of the sheriff’s office vehicles about an hour after the initial call had been received.
As of Wednesday, the man was in critical but stable condition at a nearby hospital.