A Highland man died following a freak accident with a model rocket in Landers Saturday. According to a Sheriff’s press release, Boy Scouts troops were hosting their annual Rocket Rave at Giant Rock this weekend, in which the scouts launch home-made and commercially made model rockets. Boy Scout leader Michael Bentley, 50, was watching a friend launch a home-made rocket but lost sight of the rocket and its trajectory. Bentley was still looking up when the rocket came down, striking him in the face and severely injuring him. Spectators called 9-1-1, and two off-duty San Bernardino County deputies—Detective F. Hernandez, and Lieutenant Sam Fisk, who were in the area at another event—recognized that Bentley’s injuries were life-threatening, and coordinated an emergency medical response for Bentley. Michael Bentley was flown by a CHP helicopter to Desert Hospital in Palm Springs where he died during surgery.
