Scouts and leaders from New Hyde Park’s Boy Scout Troop 298 encountered a tense situation while on a hike in Harriman State Park on Aug. 1 when a hiker fell off a rock ledge and broke his ankle.
The troop’s weekend getaway quickly became an exercise in first aid training.
Assistant Scoutmaster and New Hyde Park Village Trustee Rainer Burger said the troop knew almost immediately that the man had broken his leg since bone could be seen protruding from his leg.
The Scouts put his leg in a splint and supported the injured hiker with sleeping pads they had brought for the overnight trip.
Burger told one of the other adults present to call 911. The call center referred the call to park rangers who traced the cell phone’s position to find the troop’s location.
Burger said it took about 45 minutes to arrive and carry the injured man out via stretcher.
The incident occurred on a section of the Appalachian Trail where Burger said the troop had arrived by accident.
Burger he said was letting the Scouts do the navigating, but they had taken a wrong turn at one point and arrived in the area because they had to backtrack.
They were resting near an area known as the “Lemon Squeeze,” named for a narrow opening between two large rocks that hikers must go through when they heard a disturbance a ways off.
“We heard something like a bump, like a slip and fall in the distance and we said ‘that doesn’t sound right,’” Burger said. The hiker had slipped off a ledge and fallen about seven feet, according to Burger, landing on the trail below.
Burger said the hiker had “a few choice words” and speculated that he had broken a bone.
Burger said the hiker was surprised to see a Scout troop approach and spring into action.
The troop was presented with honors from the Village of New Hyde Park and Nassau County. Those scouts and leaders were Daniel Corcoran, Maks Manoni, Daniel Sohl, Daniel Dore, Michael Dore, Collin Lowey, Aaron Canese and Andrew Canese.
