Sixty-eight-year old Cynthia Schwandt was found unresponsive on a mountain bike trail in the Prospector/Solamere area of Park City at about 7:15 on Monday evening. She was a long-time resident of Park City and well known in the mountain biking and Nordic skiing community. She was wearing her Team Sugar jersey, a helmet and was found near her bike but had sustained a fatal injury.
Ed Orschel, also a long-time biking and skiing enthusiast and resident of Park City, was the first to find her. He says he knew who she was as soon as he came upon the accident. He called 911, gave instructions to Emergency Responders and helped them identify the easiest and quickest access to the area.
"I called 911 right away. I couldn't get a pulse and I didn't hear any breathing. Then two other riders rode up probably three minutes after, four minutes after. We were at least able to say, you know, what should we do? Should we move her? If she's had a heart attack, could we revive her?"
Orschel says the EMS personnel ran up from the Rail Trail and across Prospector but then evacuated her body to an ambulance that had driven in from the Solamere neighborhood. She was pronounced dead at the trail location.
Schwandt was riding alone and wearing a helmet. She has been transported to the Salt Lake Medical Examiner’s office in Salt Lake City, where they will determine a cause of death.
