A Utah high schooler who fell while rock climbing and fractured her skull over the weekend never hit the ground.
She was caught by a friend 20 feet below, sparing her further injury during what was meant to be a fun outing to Wasatch Mountain State Park just hours ahead of prom night.
Braden Patterson, 18, can’t remember much of what happened Saturday morning before Avery Tanner, a fellow senior at Wasatch High School, landed in his arms. But he believes she slammed into the wall more than once on the way down.
“I remember hearing her hit the rocks and suddenly she was in my arms,” Patterson recalled Monday. “I wasn’t thinking clearly enough to move myself to where I needed to catch her and have the ability to catch her — so there was definitely — I was guided by someone, by some angels, to move to where I needed to be. They were there helping me stay standing up.”