A Good Samaritan came to the aid of an injured biker who became stuck 100 feet below a Montecito hiking trail on Friday evening. The citizen discovered the male biker, whose name authorities didn’t release, 4.5 miles from the Romero Canyon Trailhead and about 1.5 miles from the top of East Camino Cielo just before 5:00 p.m. Described as “pivotal” in the biker’s rescue, the Good Samaritan stood by him until first responders arrived, according to a Montecito Fire Department press release.
Members of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (SBCSAR) Team hiked down from E. Camino Cielo in search of the injured biker, while a County Fire helicopter scanned the wilderness from above. Montecito Firefighters and AMR (American Medical Response) paramedics responded up the Romero trailhead to Bella Vista Drive.
Authorities riding in the helicopter soon found the biker 1.5 miles northeast of where the Blue Canyon Connector Trail departs from the Romero Canyon Trail, said Montecito Fire’s press release. Rescuers were lowered to the ground, where they “treated and packaged [the biker] for transport by helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.”