[kytsrf]

Kiteboarding accident sends PBer to hospital


Thursday, December 23, 2004

A Palm Beach resident out kiteboarding Wednesday morning along the ocean just north of Reef Road slammed onto the beach in 20-mph east winds.

Palm Beach Fire-Rescue took the 43-year-old man to Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach. The extent of any injuries was unknown.

Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Ray Wigfall was nearby when two children on a skateboard and one on foot rushed up to ask him for help at about 11:30 a.m.

"They said a guy just landed from a parachute," Wigfall said. He drove to the scene, saw the wind kite and victim, and called Palm Beach emergency dispatch. Nearby was a 10-meter Naish kite.

Palm Beach Fire-Rescue carried the victim across the beach on a backboard for transport to the hospital.