| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garrett, William | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| King, Linda | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Machen, Jeff | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
On November 13, 1982, William Garrett, Linda King (18), and Jeff Machen were practicing deep pit work to give King more experience. Shortly after noon, they rigged the 227-foot entrance drop of Vast Caverns in Jackson County, Alabama, and Garrett and King rappelled in. They had only two sets of ascenders, so Machen waited at the top—Garrett would ascend, and Machen would rappel in with Garrett's ascenders for King to use. At about 1:25 p.m., Machen rappelled in, unclipped from the rope, and moved to where King was sitting, about 25 feet from the bottom of the rope, 'partly protected by a 50-foot high rock wall.' King removed her hard hat for comfort, and the two sat talking. Without warning, a rock fell, brushing Machen's right shoulder and striking King, who screamed. Machen calmed the victim down somewhat and found that she appeared to have a broken forearm and an injured, bloody leg, with a minor abrasion causing some facial bleeding. Machen yelled for Garrett, and he descended with a pack. King was covered with a space blanket. Garrett then went for help, while Machen stayed with the victim. Machen moved the victim under a ledge for more protection and administered what first-aid he could, making a sling for the arm and wrapping her in the space blanket. Garrett returned in two hours and called for his pack so that he could rig the pit with a pulley for the evacuation. At 4:50 p.m., the rescue commenced. An ambulance service person rappelled in, and he and Machen splinted the injured arm and leg and got the victim into a Stokes litter, ready for hauling. The Stokes was rigged with the rescuer directly above it for guidance while Machen exerted some control from below with a line attached to the litter. As the litter neared the top, a 3-cell flashlight came out of the rescuer's harness but missed Machen, below. The victim reached Jackson County Hospital at 8:05 p.m. The arm had a broken bone, but the leg only a deep puncture wound.
The call-up complicated and the Sheriff's Office never called caver rescuers. Thus, Garrett and Machen became essential parts of the rescue, providing most of the know-how. Teal points out that the pit has obvious instability around the upper part. Since falling rocks can bound laterally for some distance, 25 feet is not far enough removed from the drop for safety. Certainly, once the two were down, they should not have remained thus exposed for 'conversation.' Obviously, removal of one's hard hat in such a location is foolish.
Linda King was struck by a falling rock while sitting unprotected 25 feet from the entrance drop, resulting in a broken arm and leg puncture wound.