18-year-old critically injured after falling in Little Cottonwood Creek

LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON — An 18-year-old man who fell from a pipe into Little Cottonwood Creek sustained life-threatening injuries and was in extremely critical condition Tuesday night at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray.

The man had been walking along the top of a large pipe that runs parallel to the creek near 5000 E. Little Cottonwood Canyon Road when he slipped and fell 8 to 10 feet into the water. The rushing creek water carried him half a mile downstream where a person, possibly a friend, was able to pull him out of the water and onto a rock in the middle of the creek, said Unified Fire Authority Capt. Clint Smith.

Critical time was spent trying to find the victim, who was in a location that was difficult to identify. Search-and-rescue crews and UFA personnel used a rope-haul system to move the man from the rock so they could begin CPR, Smith said.

The victim was later flown by helicopter to IMC in extremely critical condition. Officials said the man had a weak pulse and was not breathing on his own when he was carried out of the area.

— Lana Groves