
A hunter in southern Erie County experienced a scary moment on Wednesday when he got trapped and suspended upside down in a tree stand, but got help from first responders and some local citizens. According to crews from Evans Center, the incident occurred at an address on Southwestern Boulevard (Route 20) near Eden-Evans Center Road, where the tree stand had apparently shifted underneath the hunter. First responders say employees of a local business heard the hunter's cries for help and opened their front and rear access gates for emergency vehicles, and then entered the woods to locate the hunter. A nearby landowner who also heard the call for help used his brush hog to clear a path for first responders to walk into the woods carrying ladders, ropes and medical equipment. Evans Center firefighters and Evans Town Police, upon reaching the tree stand, used the ladder to upright the hunter back into the stand. Once he was reoriented, he descended the ladder under his own power, stabilized by emergency services personnel, and evaluated for injuries. Erie County EMS and AMR Western New York also provided assistance.
Photo by the Evans Center Fire Department