The Maryland State Police Aviation Command successfully rescued an injured hiker from St. Mary’s River State Park on Monday afternoon.
At around noon, the Maryland State Police Aviation Command was called to assist St. Mary’s County fire personnel in extricating an injured hiker located three miles into St. Mary’s River State Park in Leonardtown, Maryland.
Trooper-7, stationed at St. Mary’s Regional Airport, promptly responded, maneuvering their AW-139 helicopter into a 120-foot hover above the scene. A state trooper/flight paramedic was deployed from the helicopter to assess and prepare the patient for extraction.
Following coordination between the flight paramedic and ground personnel, the hiker was secured in a patient extrication platform and hoisted into the helicopter. Once on board, the flight crew transitioned to a medevac role, transporting the hiker to the University of Maryland Capital Regional Medical Center in Largo, Maryland, for treatment.
The Maryland State Police Aviation Command, serving the state since 1970, operates a fleet of 10 AW-139 helicopters from seven bases. Each aircraft provides 24/7 coverage for residents and visitors, undertaking missions that include medevac, law enforcement, search and rescue, homeland security, and disaster assessment. These missions’ success is heavily reliant on the cooperation between local fire, rescue, EMS, and law enforcement agencies, as well as partners such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Park Police.
