Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SEVIER COUNTY — A group of four friends "feel like family" after a frightening accident and rescue on the edge of a 40-foot cliff.
Watching his helmet camera's recording, John Dumm still has a tough time believing how fast it all happened.
"When you watch the video, it's like, ‘Oh, that's a very scary situation'," Dumm said.
In October, Dumm and three friends from Sevier County were riding their four-wheelers west of Cedar City on a mountain ridge. He said they were enjoying the beautiful weather when he noticed one of his friends fall off her four-wheeler and tumble towards a 40-foot cliff.
"There wasn't any time to waste," Dumm said.
Dumm ran to where his friend, Angelica McCall, was clinging to the mountainside. Her husband, Chiron, was holding her four-wheeler on a steep slope to prevent it from falling on her.
Anglica was at the edge of the cliff holding onto a small branch.
"And I can hear her. I can hear her saying 'I'm falling, I'm falling'," Dumm said. "There was no time to mess around, so I started down. There was no plan," Dumm said.
McCall remembers the relief she felt when Dumm approached her.
"When John came, I held on to John until he figured out how to get me out," Angelica said.
Watching the video from Dumm's helmet camera, you can see the panic and terror on her face after she took off her goggles and helmet so she could breathe.
"What do you want me to do, John?" she asked at one point during the rescue.
"Before you move, I want you to dig your heel in," Dumm responded in the video.
Meanwhile, McCall's husband was doing his best to keep the four-wheeler from rolling into the little chute they were stuck in.
"It was horrifying not to be able to help her, hoping she can grab something, knowing you can't let go of the bike," Chiron said. "It was not a light bike. I was lucky enough to get my leg wedged into a bush and underneath the tire, like a doorstop."
Dumm was able to pull Angelica to a secure spot, but as soon as he did, he started sliding uncontrollably towards the edge.
"That was the only time I really got nervous, because I could hear her screaming ‘No, no, no, John, John, John!" Dumm said.
Dumm said he dug his heels into the dirt as hard as he could and stopped just a few inches from the 40-foot drop.
"There's a split second where I whimper a little," Dumm said.
As Dumm stabilized himself, Angelica started climbing out so she wouldn't send rocks and dirt into Dumm.
Then Dumm decided to go for it, climbing and digging as hard as he could.
"It was pretty steep," Dumm said.
The fourth person in their party tied sweatshirts together to make a rope for them, which was eventually used to pull the four-wheeler up. The group forgot about their helmet cameras until they got back to their trucks.
The entire ordeal lasted seven minutes, but they said it felt like it all happened so fast.
"Everybody had a place that day, and everybody took their part, and did what they had to do and everything came out okay. Everyone survived," Chiron said.
Now they have an amazing story to tell and a lifelong bond.
"When something like this happens to you, it makes that special bond. You're tight now. For a long time," Dumm said.
"Without them I would have been gone, but we're family now," Angelica said.
