Youth injured
in gorge fall

SHOHOLA FALLS — A 12-year-old Bronx, NY boy was seriously injured early Sunday afternoon while climbing the rocks at the Shohola Falls Recreation Area on Route 6.

Shohola Police Chief Frank Brunner said John Onoschuk “took a header,” falling some 40 feet into the gorge near the falls, landing in tree tops and rocks.

Brunner and a state Fish Commission officer, Tony Winters, were unable to reach the boy after the 12:45 p.m. incident, but area fire department emergency medical technicians traversed a ledge to come to his aid.

Getting him out took longer. Volunteers from several area rough country “high-angle” rescue teams removed the boy, who was transported by helicopter to the Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Allentown. Brunner said Route 6 traffic was stopped to allow the 12:55 helicopter landing on the bridge above the falls.

While he was said to have suffered a hairline spinal fracture, several broken ribs, a broken ankle and multiple scrapes and lacerations, Onoschuk was recovering and doing much better by Tuesday, Brunner said.