Two Sweet Home men were rescued by Sheriff’s deputies and Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District personnel after an ATV accident on Buck Mountain late Sunday night, Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller said.
Lance Ryan, 37, and Larry Barstad, 32, were riding in a Polaris Ranger six-wheel ATV in the area of Wiley Creek and Buck Mountain, about four miles southeast of Sweet Home when their ATV left the gravel road and went down an embankment. Both men were injured in the crash. Ryan was able to call 911 but was unable to tell the dispatcher exactly where he was. Using a combination of the coordinates from the cell phone call and the sounds made by searchers, both victims were located by a deputy at about 12:30 a.m. down an embankment of about 150 feet, Mueller said.
They were treated at the scene by SHFAD medics. Helicopters from both REACH Air Medical Services and Life Flight were activated and staged at the Sweet Home High School athletic field.
Barstad was flown by helicopter to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, and Ryan was flown by helicopter to Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis. The condition of both subjects was unknown at press time.
Mueller said an investigation is continuing and that “alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash.”