One person is dead and another sustained critical injuries at Crabtree Falls in southern Nelson County on Saturday night.
According to Wintergreen Fire & Rescue, its technical rescue team was dispatched twice yesterday due to reported falls.
On the first call, rescue crews hiked in from the top, but they never encountered an injured person. It is believed the person hiked out through the lower entrance and was transported by a private vehicle.
Crews had barely reset when the second call came in. This time there were two people who had fallen from the upper falls. The call was received at 8:16 p.m.
Crews had to locate, repel to, stabilize, haul, lower and treat the patients. Some team members had to complete the entire evolution in wetsuits.
A hoist was requested for the rescue, but no hoist was available.
One patient died at the landing zone.
The second patient was flown to UVA Health with critical injuries, according to Wintergreen Fire & Rescue.
No names have been released.
The last unit cleared the scene at 1:10 a.m.
The cause of the accident is being investigated by the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office.
In addition to Wintergreen rescue and associated teams, assistance was provided from Montebello, Piney River, Rockfish Valley, Nelson County, AirCare 5 and Pegasus.
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Crystal Graham
