A 74-year-old La Plata County man is in critical condition after being injured in an ATV accident early Tuesday.

James Marvin Brady of Durango was rescued from the rugged terrain north of Hermosa and taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center, from where he was flown to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood.

Hospital spokeswoman Loralee Sturm said Tuesday afternoon his condition is critical.

Emergency teams were paged shortly after 8 a.m., La Plata County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dan Bender said.

Brady and a companion were going to hunt in the area around Mitchell Lakes when the companion looked back as he rounded a switchback and noticed that Brady wasn’t in sight.

“He backtracked and found his companion had gone off the road and was pinned between his ATV and a rock,” Bender said.

Members of the Sheriff’s Office, Durango Fire & Rescue Authority, La Plata County Search and Rescue, and La Plata County Mounted Patrol participated in the operation, Bender said.

Rescuers put Brady, who had head, leg and possibly other injuries, on a levitator, a one-wheel gurney, Bender said. Brady was transported for about 1½ miles to where an ATV hooked onto the levitator for the last half-mile. A Flight for Life helicopter landed on East Animas Road (County Road 250) west of Bakers Bridge to await the arrival of the injured man. The road was closed to vehicles.

Bender didn’t have the name of Brady’s hunting buddy.

daler@durangoherald.com