A woman suffered multiple injuries and temporarily lost consciousness while hiking the Bell Pass Trail in Scottsdale after strong winds blew over a saguaro that ultimately landed on top of her.
Scottsdale fire personnel administered first aid to the woman on the morning of Oct. 17. The woman's condition was not immediately available as of 3 p.m.
Amy Johnson, another hiker who rushed to the woman's aid, described the incident as a "freak accident" and said the woman remained underneath the saguaro until the woman's friend was able to place a strap underneath the cactus and lift it off of her.
"I don't know how he did that," Johnson said. "It was several hundred pounds. The saguaro was massive, so I'm sure it was very heavy."
While the saguaro that
fell appeared to be healthy, it was rooted next to another that had died, which Johnson theorized could have made the healthy cactus more susceptible to toppling from strong winds.
The woman was unconscious for five to 10 minutes before she began to awaken and sustained serious injuries to the left side of her body from the sheer weight of the saguaro as well as its needles, Johnson said.
Johnson said the woman possibly suffered head trauma as well. While she knew her and her husband's name, the woman struggled to recall what year it was or who was president.
As an avid hiker, Johnson said she'd never considered the possibility a saguaro could be blown over onto a passerby.
"It was a very humbling experience for us as hikers just to remember that there's always dangers on the trail that you don't foresee or think could ever happen to you," Johnson said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Scottsdale hiker loses consciousness after saguaro lands on top of her
