STATE POLICE HELICOPTER CREWS HOIST AND RESCUE INJURED MAN FROM GUNPOWDER FALLS

(Joppatown, MD) - Two Maryland State Police helicopter crews hoisted and rescued an injured man from Gunpowder Falls yesterday evening.

Shortly after 5:00 p.m. yesterday evening, Trooper 1, the Aviation Command helicopter assigned to the Baltimore Section, was dispatched to the Gunpowder Falls area of Harford County for a report of a man in the river, hanging on to a rock near a bridge, with critical injuries to his torso. The hoist and rescue operation was performed by the crew of Trooper 1, Pilot Craig Thompson and flight paramedic, Trooper First Class Don Pickle.

Trooper 6, the Aviation Command helicopter assigned to the Easton Section, was also dispatched as backup. The crew of Trooper 6 was Pilot Mike Harding and flight paramedic Trooper First Class Adam Lecompte.

When the crew of Trooper 1 reached the scene, they learned the man, who was hanging on to a rock underneath a railroad bridge, identified as Joshua Cianchetta, 18, had jumped into the river and landed on an object that impaled his chest. With some difficulty, emergency responders from Harford County had reached him by ground and were treating him for his extreme injuries. The EMS providers knew Cianchetta could not be safely removed from the area by ground, which prompted the 9-1-1 call for State Police Aviation Command assistance.

Using the hoist on Trooper 1, TFC Pickle lowered the basket to the ground, where it was met by emergency care providers and a member of the Baltimore City High Rise Emergency Aerial Team (H.E.A.T.) where they readied the patient for transport. TFC Pickle delicately operated the hoist and maneuvered the rescue basket containing Cianchetta to the hovering helicopter. He was in extreme critical condition.

Once the patient was secured, Trooper 1 transported him to a nearby parking lot of a shopping center where Trooper 6 was standing by to complete the medevac mission. Within minutes, Trooper 6 had flown Cianchetta to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for treatment. He is said to be listed in critical, but stable condition.

The men and women of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command perform dozens of similar hoist rescue operations each year. The rescue basket and hoist is just one of the multiple life-saving combinations on board State Police helicopters that are used to rescue people in danger and save lives in Maryland each day.