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Dad, Son Injured When Plane Hits Trees At Camp

By Pete Skiba - Wed, July 5, 2000
Nevada County Consolidated, Sierra Nevada Ambulance and personnel of the camp check a victim for injures before transporting the man. (Photo by John Hart)
A single-engine plane crashed into the trees at Wolf Mountain Camps on Tuesday, injuring the pilot and his passenger. No one at the camp was hurt.
Bob Riddle, a Grass Valley resident, and his son, Matthew Riddle of San Jose, were in Bob's 47 Thorp Model T 211 when, a witness said, it developed an engine problem and crashed.
"I could heard that plane's sick engine," said a witness, Arnie Lambrook, who lives near the camp on Jericho Road. "I looked up and saw his wings start wig-wagging. I saw him go into the trees."
Arnie Lambrook's wife, Sheri, called 911 at about 11:45 a.m.
Emergency personnel from Nevada County Consolidated Fire District arrived at the crash scene just off Retrac Way. The injured father and son were both taken to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital.
Matthew Riddle, 33, was treated at Sierra Nevada Memorial and released, a nursing supervisor said. Tuesday evening, he was going into surgery at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital for a broken wrist, a nursing supervisor there said.
Bob Riddle, 59, was transferred to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where he was in fair condition, the nursing supervisor said
While still on the accident scene, Nevada County Sheriff's Sgt. Bill Jones said it was not clear who was the pilot.
"That plane hit the trees about 100 feet up," Jones said. "They came in at an angle and missed power lines. They are two lucky men."
Jordan Sonerholm, 20, a camp counselor, saw the crash and was the first one to the plane crash.
"I yelled at Aaron (Friberg, another counselor) to go and get help and an ambulance," Sonerholm said. "I got to the plane, and both men were cut up real good. There was shattered windshield glass everywhere."
Sonerholm, of Klamath Falls, Ore., is working for the summer at Wolf Mountain Camps as a lifeguard.
"I checked both men to see if there was any blood gushing, and there wasn't," Sonerholm said. "I'm trained in first-responder stuff."
He said he identified the problem and stabilized the men until emergency medical technicians arrived. Sonerholm also checked for gas leaks and found none.
"That area was very dry and bushy. If it would have caught fire, it would have been very bad," said Randall Gross, a fire engineer. "A lot of people from the camp came and helped carry the men out."
The children at the camp, between the ages of 7 to 12, were never in any danger, said camp director Chad Moore.
"The children were over 250 yards away from the crash," Moore said. Then counselors moved them farther away, he added.
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