Paraglider crashlands near Highway 154

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A paraglider had a rough landing in brush near Highway 154 and San Antonio Creek this afternoon, fire officials said.
After getting a call from a witness who saw the glider go down just after 2 p.m., fire crews rushed to the scene to search for the downed pilot, Santa Barbara County Fire Spokesman Eli Iskow said.

"[The witness] watched him hit the brush and then lost sight of him," Iskow said. "The brush is very steep and very tall where he landed."
Iskow said the pilot, apparently uninjured, wrestled out of his harness and followed the creek to Highway 154, where he called for help on his cellphone. He told fire officials he had made an uncontrolled landing, hit the ground hard, but was not seriously hurt, Iskow said, adding that the pilot will return to the scene tomorrow to retrieve his equipment.