After Breaking Both Legs in Park, Teen Could Face Charges

Christopher Stewart undergoes surgery after falling 90 feet
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 23, 2015 12:18 PM CDT
After Breaking Both Legs in Park, Teen Could Face Charges
In this Feb. 9, 2014, photo, a view shows the Wildcat Canyon icefall at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois.   (AP Photo/NewsTribune, Scott Anderson)

Sometimes it pays to stay on the beaten path. Not only did an 18-year-old break both legs after climbing over a wooden railing at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois—he's also facing potential charges for heading into a restricted area, according to authorities. Christopher Stewart, of Aurora, Ill., allegedly left a walkway, jumped, and landed on the edge of the park's Wildcat Canyon on Friday. He then went to the top of a waterfall and tried to break some ice, which turned out to be a bad move, the Chicago Tribune reports. He fell and was discovered, conscious, by firefighters in the late afternoon.

He had fallen 90 feet, the LaSalle News Tribune, which has a photo gallery, reports. Firefighters carried him on a board to the Illinois River, where a river rescue team brought him across and into an ambulance. Finally, he arrived at a helicopter and was flown to the hospital. As of Saturday morning, he was reportedly in critical condition and undergoing surgery, the News Tribune notes. A 19-year-old woman he'd been hanging out with is facing legal trouble as well: She's been charged over alleged marijuana possession. Meanwhile, two other friends with them were "highly intoxicated." (A man had an unusual honeymoon recently when he fell off what's known as the World's End cliff and survived.)

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