Cliff diver suffers serious back injury at Rock Creek Falls

A man who posts videos of himself diving off cliffs suffered a serious back injury Wednesday after jumping from the top of Rock Creek Falls in Skamania County and landing on rocks below, according to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office.

Robert Joseph Sellars, 52, had climbed to the top of the 60-foot waterfall while family and friends waited below to record his jump. He posts videos of himself cliff diving on his website, airabovewater.com, according to a sheriff’s office statement.

Crews from Stevenson Fire/Skamania Fire District 2 and Skamania County EMS responding to a 3:45 p.m. call to 911 had to navigate chest-deep water to reach Sellars, the statement said.

Crews were able to stabilize Sellars and remove him from the shallow water but determined it would be extremely difficult to move Sellars utilizing a ropes system and called for a helicopter to conduct a hoist operation, the statement said.

Rescuers coordinated with the Washington State Department of Emergency Management and Air Force Rescue Coordination Center to secure a helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard in Astoria, Ore., according to the statement.

The Coast Guard helicopter was able to hoist Sellars out of the canyon.  He was then transported by air to OHSU Hospital, the statement said.