By Jayson Jacoby

jjacoby@bakercityherald.com

A Washington man suffered 31 rib fractures Monday morning when his four-wheeler flipped while he was backing it up a ramp into his pickup truck in the far southwest corner of Baker County.

Rodney Wagner, 65, of Royal City, near Moses Lake, was alone when the accident happened around 10:30 a.m. near Forest Road 13 in the Monument Rock and Deardorff Mountain area, said Grant County Undersheriff Todd McKinley.

That’s about 18 air miles southwest of Unity.

Although the accident happened about half a mile inside the Baker County border with Grant County, Prairie City, in the latter county, is the closest town.

Wagner, who also suffered cuts and bruises to his face, drove himself to Prairie City, where he parked at the Malheur National Forest office and started honking his horn.

An employee heard the horn and, after seeing that Wagner was hurt, called an ambulance that brought Wagner to Blue Mountain Hospital in John Day, McKinley said.

Wagner’s injuries were not life-threatening, and relatives from Washington arrived to gather his possessions from his camp, where the accident happened.

Wagner was visiting the area to explore and to pan for gold, McKinley said.

See more in Wednesday’s issue of the Baker City Herald.