Volcanoes park visitor rescued
By Rod Thompson
in restricted area
Star-BulletinHILO -- A New York woman who fell 30 feet into a lava crack in a closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was airlifted to safety and treated at Hilo Hospital yesterday, the park said.
The woman, identified as Lindsey Hart, 19, of Branchport, N.Y., suffered cuts and scrapes, said park spokeswoman Mardie Lane.
Hilo Hospital said Hart was treated and released.
Hart was in a group with three other women and a man which began hiking to the lava flow area about 6 p.m. Tuesday, Lane said.
The hike from the end of Chain of Craters Road to the flow area, about three miles, would take two to three hours one-way because of the difficult terrain, she said.
The hikers were prepared with flashlights and hiked by a full moon, but they admitted to rangers they knowingly passed a sign which says, "Area Closed -- Do Not Enter."
About 8:30 p.m. Hart fell into a crack 70 feet deep, but landed on a ledge about 30 feet down.
The man in the group hiked out to a solar- and battery-powered emergency telephone on Chain of Craters Road and called authorities at 9:40 p.m.
Park personnel reached Hart about midnight, and a county helicopter arrived at 1:30 a.m., carrying her to an ambulance waiting on the road.
Lane said a citation for entering the restricted area was issued to the man, and others are pending against the women. The citations typically carry fines of $25, Lane said.
