Alaska lawmaker breaks leg in paragliding accident

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A Sitka lawmaker broke his leg after crashing a paraglider in Anchorage last weekend.

Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat, told the Anchorage Daily News he intended to return to Juneau late Wednesday. Kreiss-Tomkins has been recuperating in Anchorage following surgery and attending committee meetings remotely.

He broke two bones in his right leg in the Saturday crash.

Rep. Laddie Shaw, an Anchorage Republican, was out flying with Kreiss-Tomkins when the crash happened. They flew from Flattop Mountain.

Shaw, who regularly hikes the mountain and paraglides from the top, was on a separate paraglider than Kreiss-Tomkins, who was taking his first flight from the mountain after becoming a certified paraglider pilot this winter.

Kreiss-Tomkins said he “just took a more roundabout flight plan and was not where I wanted to be for the landing.” He struck trees in an open field of snow.

He said he’s focused on recuperating. “If I do it again, I’ll get back to basics and just drill the fundamentals. It can and should be done safely, and so I don’t want to overreact. But I just need to figure out my mobility situation and take it one day at a time,” he said.