Owasso Man Recovering From Broken Legs After Fall At Skiatook Lake

An Owasso man is recovering from a fall that broke both his legs. He's alive even after slipping off the edge of a 50 foot cliff at Skiatook Lake.

Wednesday, August 6th 2014, 8:35 pm



An Owasso man is recovering from a fall that broke both his legs. He’s alive even after slipping off the edge of a 50 foot cliff at Skiatook Lake.

The victim said he's a little embarrassed by what happened and asked us not to share his name, but he did share his story.

Photography is what brought a 23-year-old Owasso man and some friends to a bluff Monday evening, according to OHP Captain George Brown.

“It's beautiful, it's an area that's well photographed,” Brown said. “One of the photographers lost shoe, a flip-flop, off the edge of the bluff by trying to retrieve that, slipped and fell.”

That flip-flop initially landed on a rocky point, but through the chaos ended up in a tree, where it still is.

The victim said by the time he realized going after the footwear was dangerous, it was too late and there was nothing for him to grab a hold of and nothing but rocks to break his fall.

From the top of the cliff to the water's edge you really get an idea of how high it is - close to 50 feet - and the fall would just take seconds.

“This is probably a three second drop. It's a devastating drop and it's an accident, a quite unfortunate accident, but we know that accidents happen,” Brown said.

The spot where the man landed is only accessible by water, so when Skiatook EMS made it to the lake, a bystander drove them by boat to the accident scene.

There, they met up with OHP Marine Trooper and medic, Matt Drummond who was awarded for saving a woman in a similar situation last summer.

Captain Richard Postier with Skiatook Fire said, “Being there with people we have trained with, the comfort level was there. We could look Matt Drummond, trooper Drummond and we knew his abilities, we knew our abilities. They were able to work hand-and-hand together and just provide and excellent service to that gentleman.”

The victim spent Tuesday in surgery, but said he feels fortunate he wasn't hurt any worse. He also said his friends played a pivotal role in getting help to him quickly.

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