Corvallis man killed in coast paragliding crash
A Corvallis man was killed Saturday in a paragliding crash at Cape Lookout State Park on the Oregon coast, Oregon State Police reported Sunday.
OSP assisted the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office and emergency personnel at the scene of the crash, reported shortly before 5 p.m., said OSP Sgt. Yvette Shephard.
An initial investigation determined the paragliding, Clifton Westin, 53, of Corvallis, had launched from a cliff overlooking the beach and rapidly descended to the rocks below, Shephard said.
Westin was seen on the rocks just after the fall, then was washed into the ocean by waves, meaning medics were unable to reach him from shore.
The U.S. Coast Guard launched a helicopter and motor life boat from the Tillamook Bay Station and recovered Westin, who was unresponsive at the time he was brought aboard the boat, Shephard said.
Westin was pronounced dead by medical personnel a short time later after life-saving measures failed to revive him.
Assisting OSP with the investigation were the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office, Tillamook Regional Medical Center Ambulance, Netarts Fire and Rescue, the Coast Guard, the Tillamook County District Attorney’s Office and the Tillamook County Medical Examiner’s office.
