Sept. 18, 2012 — A 45-year-old man was airlifted to Cabell- Huntington Hospital Friday after an all-terrain vehicle rolled on top of him at the Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival off US 60 east.
Dispatchers got the call about 4:45 p.m. The unidentified man initially did not want to be taken to the hospital.
“He said, ‘I’m OK,’ and we did an assessment and rolled him over on a board and he said, ‘Maybe I should go,’” said Jerry Bowen, chief of the Hayes Crossing-Haldeman Volunteer Fire Department.
The HCHVFD had a tent set up at Poppy Mountain from the start of the festival on Tuesday until the end on Sunday morning.
“They set up a small city up there and we feel like we need to provide service to them,” Bowen said.
There were eight emergency transports from the festival, according to Bowen, and 12 refusals.
“There were about 21 calls altogether,” Bowen said. “There were probably 10 things for which we didn’t call EMS, like somebody burning a finger, a vendor getting burned on grease while cooking, or somebody falling into a fire. That happens a lot. Those usually are alcohol-related.”
There were 6,000 campers and nearly 12,000 people coming and going throughout the festival, according to Mike Stevens, son of co-owner Marty Stevens.
Organizers said they continuously cautioned ATV and golf cart drivers not to break the mountain’s five mph speed limit.
Bowen estimated that at least 10 accidents happen each year at the festival.
Nicole Sturgill can be reached at nsturgill@themoreheadnews.com or by telephone at 784-4116.
