Kite surfer blown onto road, hit by car, seriously hurt

FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014 file photo a kite surfer surfs against the backdrop of Table Mountain in Cape Town South Africa, the top city destination in the country. Tour operators across Africa say they face difficulties as the Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 2,200 people in four countries, continues to defy international efforts to control it. Tourism, a major source of revenue for many African countries, especially Kenya and South Africa, is increasingly being hurt as some potential visitors hesitate over visiting the continent which is home to the disease. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam, File) FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014 file photo a kite surfer surfs against the backdrop of Table Mountain in Cape Town South Africa, the top city destination in the country. Tour operators across Africa say they face difficulties as the Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 2,200 people in four countries, continues to defy international efforts to control it. Tourism, a major source of revenue for many African countries, especially Kenya and South Africa, is increasingly being hurt as some potential visitors hesitate over visiting the continent which is home to the disease. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam, File)

By Associated Press September 5, 2015 2 min read

AN FRANCISCO – A kite surfer at a San Francisco beach was caught in a huge gust of wind and dragged across a parking lot on to a highway, where he was hit by a car and critically injured, police said.

The man was setting up his rig at the edge of the water on Friday afternoon at Ocean Beach when the wind caught him and took him onto the Great Highway, city police said in a statement.

Winds of about 35 mph with gusts approach 50 mph were blowing on the beach at the time.

Steve Sutherland, 54, was visiting from Minnesota and said he was watching when the huge gust came.

“He was down by the water getting his stuff ready with his girlfriend, but there was just too much wind,” Sutherland told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It picked him up and took him toward the road. He bounced a couple times, and then I lost sight of him. But whatever happened after that it wasn’t good.”