Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

On Friday, a kiteboarder at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach (my image of Ocean Beach and Cliff House is above) was blown onto the Great Highway by a wind gust and suffered life-threatening injuries after being hit by a car! According to SFGate.com:

Witnesses said the man’s kite was lifted up by a gust shortly before 3:15 p.m. as he stood on the shoreline preparing to enter the water. He suffered critical injuries when he was deposited forcefully onto the southbound lanes of the highway near Sloat Boulevard and was then hit by a vehicle, a San Francisco Police Department spokeswoman said.

Steve Sutherland, 54, who was visiting from Minnesota, saw the man readying his gear near the water’s edge when the wind picked up.

“He was down by the water getting his stuff ready with his girlfriend, but there was just too much wind. It picked him up and took him toward the road,” Sutherland said. “He bounced a couple times, and then I lost sight of him, but whatever happened after that it wasn’t good.”

The injured man, whose name was not released, was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with life-threatening injuries, police officials said.

The SFGate article contains accounts of other kiteboarding accidents and the use of smaller kites with higher wind speeds.

A National Weather Service gauge registered winds in the area at around 35 mph as of 4:30 p.m. on Friday, and the strongest gust of the day was 47 mph. Breezes often increase in strength in the afternoon.