Falling boulder slams into 70-year-old hiker high on rugged Utah peak, rescuers say

A 70-year-old woman’s trek up a rugged eastern Utah mountain took a terrifying turn Monday when she fell, The Deseret News reported.

Just 100 feet short of Hayden Peak, a loose boulder crashed down on the woman after she fell, according to the publication. She began sliding down the mountain.

“Next thing I knew she was coming down in front of me,” said Wade Meier, who was hiking with Richins, KSL-TV reported.

“Not really sure what happened right then,” Meier said. “I think somebody else other than me was there and stopped her, but I reached down and kind of caught her under the arm — which was good because she would have gone a long way had I not caught her.”

A helicopter rescued the woman, who suffered a broken femur along with head and arm injuries, from the peak in the Uinta Mountains in Summit County, The Gephardt Daily reported.

The accident took place about 1:20 p.m., KSTU reported.

“I believe that she was blessed that she didn’t get hurt any worse than she was,” said Paul Richins, her husband, KSL-TV reported.

A 37-year-old woman died in March hiking on Stansbury Island in Utah when her foot got caught beneath a boulder, which then rolled on top of her, McClatchy news group reported.

This story was originally published August 13, 2019 at 8:23 AM with the headline "Falling boulder slams into 70-year-old hiker high on rugged Utah peak, rescuers say."