Erik Westover’s garage-turned-workshop is something out of a science-fiction movie.
Dozens of tools line the walls, giant German CNC and welding machines stand in the corners of the shop, model pirate ships and race cars made out of rebar dangle from the ceiling, and welding masks watch out over the garage from pegs pounded into the rafters.
It was in this shop that Westover, an engineer and former member of La Plata County Search and Rescue, created the Levitator – a specialized gurney for backcountry search and rescue extractions.
By all accounts, his creation was genius. It was renowned for its ability to comfortably transport injured patients out of the backcountry.
Three heavy-duty mountain bike shocks and an ATV wheel provide suspension over rough terrain. Handles on both ends of the litter allow two people to safely move it. Hydraulic disc brakes control its speed. And attachment points on its frame allow it to be towed behind a four-wheeler or snowmobile.
But, in the early 2000s, at the time Westover was tweaking the Levitator’s design to make it even better, tragedy struck.
Toni Westover, Westover’s sister, said that in 2006 he suffered a traumatic brain injury that put him in a coma. He had to relearn to walk, speak and use his hands, and his work on the Levitator fell to the wayside.
That is, until now.
Together with Benny Selph, Westover’s caregiver who is also an engineer, the pair is working to revitalize his creation. In April, the pair took second place in the Fort Lewis College Hawk Tank entrepreneurial competition for the Levitator, before taking it to the New Mexico Search and Rescue Council ESCAPE event.
Selph said the duo is now working to secure more funding to build an updated Levitator, which they hope to provide to search and rescue crews – and help save lives – once again.
The idea for the Levitator was born when Westover and a couple of his colleagues from La Plata County Search and Rescue met at Carvers Brewing Co. one night in the late 1990s. Sipping pints of beer and drawing on their own experiences using a similar – yet less practical – wheeled litter, the group drew on a bar napkin the first rough blueprint for the Levitator.
LPCSR President Ron Corkish was there. In his 39 years of search and rescue work, he said he saw several iterations of wheeled rescue litters, but none were as efficient, practical or comfortable for the patients they transported as the Levitator.
“Back in the old days, in the late ’80s, you had a litter that you would clamp an ATV wheel to its steel frame,” Corkish said. “But there was no suspension, there were no handles, there were no brakes. It was just, ‘Here’s the guy in the litter, clamp him on an ATV wheel, and here we go.’”
That iteration of the wheeled litter, simply called “The Wheel,” worked well for what it was, he said, but was uncomfortable and hard to stop.
“Erik said, ‘Well, it sure would be a nicer ride if it had some suspension, and if it could be towed behind a vehicle,’” Corkish said. “And that’s where the Levitator concept was born. It wouldn’t surprise me if he still has the napkins.”
That night at Carvers, Corkish said, the group dreamed up a rescue gurney with disc brakes, mountain bike suspension, retractable legs that allowed it to stand on its own and a mechanism for being towed behind a snowmobile or ATV. Just like that, the Levitator was born.
“He was a rescuer,” Toni Westover said. “He saw how difficult it was, and how much something like the Levitator could really help get people off a mountain, especially mountains like ours.”
Westover’s invention was a game changer, said former LPCSR President Butch Knowlton. By 2003, Westover had secured a patent for the Levitator, and other search and rescue operations began to catch on. His garage turned into a Levitator assembly line where Westover could construct a complete unit in a matter of hours, Selph said. Within a few years, Westover had sold 25 units to rescue teams from Florida to Idaho.
“It was a hell of an invention,” Knowlton said. “Westover’s just short of a genius when it came to putting that thing together, because it made such a difference for rescue crews. It was amazing.”
The Levitator became the first tool LPCSR would take when it had to extract an injured person from the backcountry, Knowlton said.
“The Levitator just made a huge difference all the way around,” he said. “If you’ve ever had the opportunity to carry a human body for a long distance, it’s pretty difficult. The suspension, the wheel design and all of the thought process and engineering that went into it just made it so much easier to move people across rough terrain.”
But there were still things that could be improved. Its steel and aluminum frame was heavy – about 85 pounds without a person – meaning it needed an entire team to move. Its welded frame meant it couldn’t be broken down, making transporting the Levitator difficult. Finally, the mechanisms for attaching it to a four-wheeler or snowmobile and putting the legs down were hard to use.
But before Westover had a chance to address those issues, a freak accident occurred while he was working on a pickup truck in 2006. The 3,000-pound vehicle fell on his head, and trauma to his brain put him in a coma, his sister said.
“He should have died,” she said.
Westover’s recovery was miraculous, Toni Westover said. After intensive surgeries, a coma and a grueling recovery process, Westover was able to return to some normalcy, like riding motorcycles, which was his passion apart from working on the Levitator. But, almost a decade after his injury, he developed Parkinson’s disease, a common side effect of traumatic brain injuries, that put him in a wheelchair, Westover said.
“Rehab for something like that is no joke,” she said. “Erik’s an amazing person to have gone through it. He doesn’t give up.”
Toni Westover said her brother fought hard to get back to where he was. Together with caregivers and physical therapists, she helped him through the rehab process. But because Westover couldn’t use his body the same way anymore, his work on the Levitator fell to the wayside.
“I’ve had people reach out to me when we did have the Levitator going, telling me, ‘It is amazing and I want to buy eight for my community,’” she said. “I couldn’t fulfill it. We had closed it down, and I felt bad.”
Eventually, her brother needed a caregiver to help him through his daily life.
“We have some amazing caregivers that have been with him for, you know, probably about seven years now that have really helped me a lot,” Toni Westover said. “It’s been good to have for him, to have other people around him.”
In February 2024, Benny Selph started working as Westover’s caregiver on weekends between classes at San Juan College. When he learned more about Westover’s story, Selph, studying to becoming an engineer, immediately asked how he could help.
“We were just getting in the shed to look for spare parts for a dirt bike, and I saw all the different prototypes and Levitator parts,” he said. “I just fell in love with Erik’s dream.”
Selph said he could not let Westover’s lifesaving device fade away. So, every weekend the two started tinkering on an updated version of the Levitator, which addressed the areas where it could be improved that Westover identified before his accident. Eventually, the two decided to form Levitator Rescue and Recreation Services, an LLC meant to bring an updated version of the Levitator back onto the market.
“Pulling the Levitator out and driving it forward really just came from a sense of determination to help people, and in turn, achieve Erik’s dream,” Selph said. “It really sparked life back into Erik and he is so determined to make things happen.”
In April, Westover and Selph presented an updated prototype of the Levitator and their business plan for Levitator Rescue and Recreation Services at Fort Lewis College’s Hawk Tank entrepreneurial competition. The pair took home second place, and with it, a check for $2,500. Right after Hawk Tank, they showcased the new Levitator at the New Mexico Search and Rescue Society’s ESCAPE event, where search and rescue teams offered to buy one once a more fully-completed model was done, Selph said.
The win was a major milestone, Selph said, but the pair still have some significant hurdles to clear – namely, raising $10,000, the amount Selph estimates it will take to get their startup off the ground and build more updated Levitators.
“At first I was really optimistic when we were doing the business plan competition, the ball was just rolling so fast that it felt like it was right within our grasp,” he said. “It’s looking really shy. I also am a full-time college student and a full-time dad, so finding the time to make $10,000 on the side is a little out of reach.”
Selph said the goal is to decrease the weight by making the frame out of titanium. They also made the system that attaches the Levitator to a snowmobile or an ATV easier to use and more secure. Those two upgrades will not sacrifice the adjustable air shock system and the folding arms, but make moving the Levitator in the backcountry easier.
“The thing is, as much as we want to make it lighter, I don’t want to sacrifice these amazing capabilities it has,” he said.
Even though their business is facing headwinds, Selph said, the process has given Westover a chance to continue his legacy. At the same time, it has forged a tight friendship between Selph and Westover and enriched both of their lives.
“We quickly became friends and our relationship is so much deeper than client-caregiver,” Selph said. “I was a high school dropout when I met Erik, and now I am going into my third semester of college. It’s honestly amazing the impact he’s had on my life, my family and the lives of so many other people.”
Selph said that Westover, a master welder, helped him improve his welding skills, and even taught him how to drive his manual car. Westover’s sister and Selph said it is his nature to help people, and that the Levitator was his way to give back to the community and take care of his family.
“Erik made this because he cares about people,” Selph said. “It wasn’t about the money, he sold them at-cost. He just wanted search and rescue to have what they needed.”
Westover’s sister said working with Selph has helped empower her brother, even if their dream faces some challenges.
“Benny’s just been a really bright light,” she said. “He was crying when he saw the Levitator up there and Benny getting that award (at Hawk Tank). He was so choked up. And he’s so proud of that. It’s his legacy.”
Editor’s note: Erik Westover had trouble speaking to the reporter because of his injury, hence why there were no direct quotes from him. Because of that, his sister and caretaker spoke on his behalf.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
