Union-News (Springfield, MA)
Author: DAVID KELLY
CHESTERFIELD, MA – A Northampton man was rescued by raft yesterday after injuring his leg in a 40-foot fall into Chesterfield Gorge.
Charles Bixby, 41, of Florence escaped serious injury in the fall, which came as he was climbing out of the gorge after swimming at about 12:30 p.m. Police and fire officials said Bixby apparently slipped backwards after nearly reaching the top.
The injured man dropped into shallow water, bounced and landed in a deeper end of the Westfield River, which runs through the gorge, said Chesterfield Police Officer Rob Judd, one of the first people on the scene.
“He had done all his swimming and was climbing out when he fell about 35 to 40 feet,” said Judd. “When I got there he was sitting on a rock and in obvious pain. It looked like his leg was broken.”
Emergency officials from neighboring Goshen, Williamsburg and state police converged on the scene in an attempt to extricate Bixby from the gorge.
Goshen Fire Chief Francis Dresser said six to eight emergency medical technicians and police rappelled down the side of the gorge, put Bixby on a raft and floated him downstream about a quarter of a mile to a waiting ambulance.
Bixby was treated for a fractured kneecap at Cooley Dickinson Hospital and released.
Officials did not know Bixby’s address.