Dozens Help Bring Justin Zilz Out; His Condition Reported 'Serious'

By BILL JONES

Staff Writer

A young Greene County man who fell from Margarette Falls in southern Greene County late Sunday afternoon was listed in "serious condition" at the Johnson City Medical Center this morning.

Justin Zilz, 21, of Pottertown Road, Midway, was flown there early this morning by a Wings Air Rescue helicopter after a marathon rescue effort in which dozens of volunteer firefighters carried him from the base of the falls down a steep, rock-strewn trail more than a mile to a waiting ambulance.

The rescue party reached the ambulance with Zilz at approximately 11:30 p.m.

Zilz, according to a hiking partner, had fallen more than 40 feet from the face of the 60-foot-high falls into a pool of water at the base of the falls.

Greene County 911 had been notified that Zilz had fallen at 5:38 p.m. Sunday. Units of the Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad, the Camp Creek Volunteer Fire Department and Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services were first dispatched to the scene.

In all, some 80 volunteers from practically all Greene County volunteer fire departments and other emergency agencies, took part in rescue efforts, Rescue Squad Captain Jon Waddell said.

"I want to thank everyone who came out to help," Waddell said. "We had people from as far away as the United VFD in Baileyton up there."

It took the first rescuers some 40 minutes to reach the injured man by hiking the narrow, more-than-mile-long trail that leads to the falls, according to Waddell.

A short time after rescue workers reached the accident scene, they saw a snake, believed to have possibly been a poisonous copperhead, eating a small trout in the pool of water at the base of the falls.

The snake slithered beneath rocks with its prey and was not seen again by rescue personnel, Greeneville Sun photographer Phil Gentry said.

During the trek to reach Zilz, EMS Emergency Medical Technician Jamie Christy suffered an ankle injury and had to be assisted off the mountain.

Weather Foils Helicopter

Waddell said the initial plan had been to use a Knox County Sheriff's Department helicopter equipped with a hoist mechanism to lift the injured Zilz from the base of the falls.

Bill Brown, director of the Greeneville-Greene County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said on Sunday night that he had contacted the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency's operations center in Nashville and arranged for the Knox County Sheriff's Department helicopter equipped with a rescue hoist to be dispatched to the scene.

"They (the Knox County Sheriff's Department) brought an entire rescue team," Waddell said. "It would have been great if Mother Nature had cooperated."

He said the plan to use the hovering helicopter to lift the injured man from the base of the falls had to be abandoned because of rain, fog and low clouds that moved into the area shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday.

A similar plan had worked in March 2005 when a man fell from the same falls and a Virginia State Police helicopter was used to lift him from the base of the falls and fly him to safety, Waddell recalled.

Locally based medical-evacuation helicopters are not equipped with rescue hoists that can be used to lift victims from the ground to hovering helicopters.

When weather forced rescue workers to abandon use of a helicopter on Sunday night, Waddell said, the only alternative was for volunteers to carry Zilz down the steep trail in what turned into nearly total darkness.

Fending Off Bees, Hornets

On the return journey with the injured man, Rescue Squad member Ashley Rader suffered several bee stings and had to be given medication at the scene, according to Waddell.

In addition, Waddell said, a number of other rescue workers were stung by Yellow Jackets (a type of wasp) or hornets.

He noted that the rescue party that was carrying the injured Zilz to safety disturbed a yellow jacket nest as it neared the command post on the journey to safety.

Rader, and several others, were stung at that point, Waddell said.

In addition, he noted, angry hornets attacked several rescue workers near the command post and for awhile occupied an EMS ambulance.

Waddell said rescue efforts also were hampered by rain showers, darkness and the trail, which was muddy, littered with rocks and blocked at several points by fallen trees.

He noted that rescue personnel had to cross a creek at least four times while carrying Zilz to safety on Sunday night.

Volunteers, he said, used flashlights, headlamps and chemical "light sticks" in an attempt to light their way down the slippery trail.

The Greene County Chapter of the American Red Cross provided food and drinks for the rescue workers on Sunday night, Waddell said.

Margarette Falls is a popular destination for hikers and is located in the Bullen Hollow section of the Cherokee National Forest above Shelton Mission Road.

Previous Accidents

The Sunday afternoon incident marked the third time since 2005 that someone has fallen from the 60-foot-high falls.

Landon "Lannie" Kinser, 41, of the Asheville Highway, fell from Margarette Falls on June 28, 2006, and had to be carried to safety by emergency personnel during daylight hours. Kinser was then flown to the Johnson City Medical Center by a Wings Air Rescue helicopter.

Patrick Rae Laws, 33, of Deerwood Road, also fell from the falls in March 29, 2005. He was lifted from the base of the falls by a Virginia State Police helicopter equipped with a hoist and flown to the Johnson City Medical Center.

Both Kinser and Law recovered from their injuries.