Horseback riding accident on the dunes… woman airlifted to RI trauma center… [Video]
WEST BARNSTABLE – At about 6:30pm, a Barnstable Natural Resources Officer was on routine patrol of the dunes at Sandy Neck Beach when he came upon a serious horseback riding accident.
A novice horseback rider had rented a horse named Zena and had fallen off when they began to gallop along one of the trails.
If it wasn’t for Natural Resources Officer Lilly, the accident victim may be still be out on the dunes tonight.
Lilly is a trained ‘first responder’ and knew the female needed help right away. Lilly met paramedics in his patrol truck back near the paved road and wasted no time transporting them back to the dune trail where the victim was laying in the sand.
Rescue personal immediately realized they needed to get the woman to a trauma center when they observed blood coming from her ears.
A medflight helicopter was summoned to a nearby beach parking area. Meanwhile, West Barnstable firefighters transported the patient from the scene to the parking area in one of their specially equipped off road vehicles.
The patient was stabilized before being loaded into the helicopter and airlifted to a Rhode Island trauma center.
According to fire officials, the woman was suffering from serious injuries.
Natural Resources Officer Lilly credits the efforts of the West Barnstable Fire Department for the swift over-sand rescue.
The horse named Zena was not injured physically.
The following video highlights the scene right from when the patient is being loaded onto the helicopter and airlifted. It also contains footage of Zena, along with some other horses, inside their trailers in the Sandy Neck Beach parking lot… [Press play]
The following is YouTube video of the Ridge Valley Stables, who come to Sandy Neck from Grafton and provide 11 mile horseback tours. It has not been confirmed if this is the stable that rented the horse to tonight's victim (The video shows the Sandy Neck trials from horseback). But according to online sources, Ridge Valley Stables does rent a horse named Zena.
9/26/2014
Robert Bastille,
