Mountain biker rescued from trail by Border Patrol
By Dani Miskell
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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A mountain biker was rescued after falling more than 40 feet down an embankment at Otay Lakes County Park, where he remained stranded for hours until Border Patrol agents spotted him.
Keith Leyva was on what was supposed to be a short mountain bike ride close to home when the accident occurred. His wife Jennifer became concerned when she didn’t hear from him after hours, knowing something was wrong.
From his hospital bed, Leyva described what happened during the terrifying fall.
“So I was riding my bike. I had stopped because it was a steep section. And I moved a little bit, and I got back on my bike. And when I got back on, I overbalanced and I put my foot out to catch myself, but there was nothing there. And so then I just fell straight over. This vertical cliff head first,” Leyva said.
Leyva said he was lying upside down for hours until Border Patrol found him.
The rescue took time because search crews from the Sheriff’s Office and Cal Fire had trouble locating his car.
Leyva remains in the ICU suffering from a collapsed lung, chest contusions, dislocated and fractured wrists, lacerations across his body, and more.
According to UC Berkeley statistics, there are more than 700 bicycle accidents annually across the county. While the data doesn’t specify what percentage involves mountain biking, researchers note that 1% of bicycle crashes are fatal.
Jennifer Wolschlag is warning people planning to mountain bike or hike the Otay Lakes County Park trails to be careful, noting that this trail remains open.
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