We know you all don't want to hear about this stuff but it did happen to a fellow kiter in Vegas.
Yes a really good friend of mine as we worked together for years. We all went kiting and snowboarding in a big group together. It is so sad and Mohave can be so dangerous as the weekends are packed in with cars, motorhomes, million people, you name it on a super tiny beach. Winds exceeding to 40mph today and got gusty and shifting back and forth SW and SE. He was in bad spot to begin with. There’s no way to save his life as I prayed and hoped they could save him. He’s very young at 39 years old. A Cali kiter launched him and the kite went up and he was just about to walk to the water and between cars and he ended up getting lofted 30ft in the air going backwards and slammed into the restroom down there. Extreme high gusty winds today.
Not a good day to try and ride a 12m. You hit a concrete wall basically. Hit his head hard backwards then unconscious and the kite took him and lofted him again as he went over the thick wire fence as he crashed. People were trying to get him and the kite got him lofted again. When the people finally got to him he was not breathing. A guy actually was videotaping everything that happened out there.
He wasn’t breathing and it took flight for life say 30minutes to get there. What can you do? He was bleeding internally so not sure if you could do CPR on him or not. The doctor said he has to be pulled off life support as he has no chance whatsoever for survival. Sorry to see him go as he was so successful as a young man. He has severe brain injuries that they cannot repair.
The posters conclusion is that he is going to wear a helmet from now on. Of course it is smart te wear a helmet but when the forecasts come up with gusty winds just skip the session!