A man was rescued Sunday afternoon after authorities say he fell as far as 30 feet down a hill in Butler.

The victim, Tyler J. Vaughan, 23, of Butler, was eventually flown to a Pittsburgh hospital with leg and neck injuries.

“He was complaining of a lot of pain,” Capt. Tom Fair of the Butler Fire Department said Monday.

Vaughan was walking along the Connoquenessing Creek shortly before noon when he apparently tried to climb the side of a steep hill behind John Waterbec Auto Body on South Cliff Street.

He didn't make it and fell. He was able to call for help on his cell phone, Fair said, but authorities had to use “pings” from cellular towers located in the area to pinpoint Vaughan's exact location.

“(Vaughan) said he couldn't feel his neck,” Butler Deputy Chief David Adam said Monday, “and he couldn't move his legs.”

Firefighters conducted a rope rescue with crews placing him into a rescue basket and hoisting him up the hillside.

Vaughan was taken by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital before a medical helicopter flew him to an unknown Pittsburgh hospital.

In an interview Monday, Vaughan said that he had checked himself out of the hospital and has a neck injury and a fractured leg.

He said he felt lucky to be alive and was grateful for the fire and EMS personnel who rescued him.

“They did a phenomenal job. I give all the credit to the city firefighter and paramedic that came down the hill,” he said.