Man in critical condition after 15-foot fall from bluff

Rescuers carry an injured hiker at the Pocket Wilderness near Soddy-Daisy. The 19-year-old Nashville man was hiking with friends when he fell down a bluff, hit his head on a rock and landed in a creek. He is listed in critical condition at Erlanger, authorities said.

Photo by Contributed Photo /Chattanooga Times Free Press.

A 19-year-old Nashville man fell from a trail in the Pocket Wilderness near Soddy-Daisy and is in critical condition with a head injury, authorities said.

Amy Maxwell, spokeswoman for Hamilton County Emergency Services, said the young man came with two friends from Nashville to hike in the area at Upper Hog Skin Branch.

The victim slipped, falling 15 feet down a bluff and hitting his head on a rock before landing in a shallow creek, Maxwell said in a news release.

One of the friends called 911, and rescuers arrived from Mowbray Mountain Volunteer Fire Department. Tennessee State Parks, Hamilton County Emergency Services, Waldens Ridge Emergency Services, Sequoyah VFD, Hamilton County Cave and Cliff team and Chattanooga Hamilton County Rescue responded to the scene.

Maxwell said the responders had to climb 200 feet up the bluff to get to the injured patient. Hamilton County EMS treated his injuries before responders placed the man in a Stokes basket and lowered him down the bluff on a rope.

They used a six-wheeler to bring him out to an ambulance, which met Erlanger's LifeForce helicopter at a landing zone.

The young man's name had not been released as of Saturday evening because Tennessee State Parks officials were trying to notify his parents, Maxwell said.