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ACCIDENT RESULTS IN SERIOUS INJURY TO VISITOR CARLSBAD, New Mexico – At about 7 a.m. on July 3, visitors entering Carlsbad Caverns National Park spotted a badly damaged sports utility vehicle about 200 feet down a steep embankment, below Walnut Canyon Road, near the visitor center. They alerted an employee who was arriving for work, and she made her way down the hillside. She found a male victim lying outside the vehicle, breathing but unconscious. She immediately called for help. Responding were park emergency personnel, Carlsbad Fire Department, Joel Volunteer Fire Department, New Mexico State Police and Eddy County Sheriff's Office. The rescuers then summoned Tri-State Care Flight helicopter from Carlsbad Medical Center. The victim, identified as 23 year-old, Clyde Elliott of Canton, TX, was flown to a trauma center in El Paso, TX for further treatment. Preliminary investigation indicates that the victim had been in the canyon since the night of July 2, but an exact time of the accident has not been determined. The New Mexico State Police is conducting the accident investigation. Requests for more information should be directed to the state police at: 505/827-9300. About the National Park Service: more than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 402 national properties and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov |
Last updated: February 24, 2015