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PROVO — Family of a man hit by falling ice at Bridal Veil Falls says he's lucky to be alive, but his recovery is made complicated by the fact that he's hundreds of miles away from home.
The ice-framed cascade of water in Provo Canyon is a popular bucket list item for Utah visitors. Luis 'Louii' Santos decided to visit on his trip to Utah from Yuma, Arizona.
He was in awe of the falls, and so much so, that Louii Santos immediately texted his twin brother, Jose Santos, as he hiked around the area on April 7.
"'I'm hiking, I'm by this waterfall,'" Jose Santos recounted, of what his brother said in his message. "And he actually had sent me a picture, you know, 'I'm really happy, right close to the waterfall.'"
Jose Santos said he texted back, "Be careful."
The next communication Jose Santos received was a call that a chunk of ice crashed onto Louii Santos' head. Search and Rescue had to lift Louii Santos out of the area by helicopter, and rush him to the hospital.
Jose Santos said his brother was unresponsive and in a comatose state.
"I tried to make sure, you know, 'Is he close to death? Is he going to pass away on us? Or what's going to happen?' You know?" Jose Santos remembered, of what he asked the doctors. "But they told us that it was pretty bad, the accident is pretty bad."
Jose Santos said that his brother suffered a fractured skull, brain bleed, broken jaw and broken bones in his face. To make things worse, all of Louii Santos' family had to watch it unfold from out of state.
Jose Santos explained that he and his parents were able to drive up from Arizona, but he couldn't stay the several weeks Louii Santos is expected to remain hospitalized here. He's back home and getting daily updates on how his twin is doing.
Jose Santos cautioned about the importance of keeping in mind the dangers when visiting such a popular place, and taking steps like staying on the trail.
He's glad his brother is alive, Jose Santos just hates that his brother is going through this so far from home.
"He's doing really good, considering how he was," Jose Santos said. "But there's still a lot of work to do."
While the family is hopeful for Louii Santos' continued recovery, Jose Santos added that with him being hospitalized out of state, they expect the medical bills to really pile up.
They've started raising money through a GoFundMe* to help Louii Santos pay those bills and make it back to Arizona to recover when he's released from the hospital.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
