‘I was clinically dead’: Snowboarder rescued after jump takes terrifying turn

PINECREST (CBS13) — A skilled snowboarder is alive and telling his story after falling at least 20 feet, landing head-first into a deep part of snow last week.

Justin Calbert describes last Thursday when he went up chair three at Dodge Ridge Resort in Pinecrest in a simple yet horrifying way: “I literally call it the day that I died,” Calbert said.

Slopes that he and his wife Casey know well that quickly turned into a near cold and powdery grave. Other skiers and snowboarders were watching as he fell at least 20 feet from a well-known jump; landing head-first into the snowbank below.

“There was a time that I did not have a pulse. I wasn’t breathing. So, I was clinically dead a handful minutes before they resuscitated me,” Calbert said.

One of those people was Modesto Fire Department engineer Jerad Heinrich.

“What was going through my mind was he needed help and he needed help fast,” Heinrich said.

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