Blown off course, injured parachutist left dangling from Lake Elsinore powerlines

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. — Authorities say a parachutist was hospitalized after he was blown off course and became entangled in powerlines in the area of Mission Trail and Vine Street in Lake Elsinore. 

Witnesses have since said it appeared the parachutist, who spent just over an hour dangling from the powerlines, was trying to aim for a large empty field east of the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park, but instead came down near the intersection. It was believed the man had been attempting to land at nearby Skydive Elsinore when the accident occurred.

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Cal Fire-Riverside and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene around 11:11 a.m. after receiving reports of a parachutist who came down in the neighborhood and was left dangling from the live power lines.

911 callers reported the victim may have sustained lower extremity injuries and was about thirty feet above the ground.

A parachutist sustained minor lower extremity injuries after he became entangled in power lines while trying to land in an open field east of the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park. Natasha Robinson/Lake Elsinore Community News and More photo

When officials arrived they contacted Southern California Edison, who responded to the location with a bucket lift.

Due to the large response of emergency personnel, traffic quickly began backing up while officials worked at the scene to rescue the man.

At around 12:15 p.m. officials updated that SCE had arrived on scene and was able to cut power to the lines before using their bucket lift to bring the victim down.

He was then evaluated by paramedics at the scene before being transported to an area hospital for minor lower extremity injuries.

SCE was also able to untangle and safely remove the chute from the power lines.

Traffic quickly backed up while officials worked to rescue the dangling victim. Natasha Robinson/Lake Elsinore Community News and More photo

After witnessing the incident, Lake Elsinore Community News and More Administrator Natasha Robinson told RCNS she was  driving on Railroad Canyon Road to a storage facility when she spotted the parachutist coming down.

“I was just trippin,” Robinson explained, saying, “I knew he was way off course.”

Robinson continued watching the parachutist’s decent and arrived at the scene just as the man was landing into the power lines, leaving him stranded. She then remained at the scene, covering the incident for LECN&M.

“He’s very very fortunate it didn’t turn out worse,” she later added.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.

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