Boy Scouts ax 2 men who toppled ancient Utah rock

SALT LAKE CITY Two Utah men have been stripped of their positions as Boy Scout leaders after they posted a video of themselves purposely toppling an ancient rock formation in a state park.

A northern Utah Boy Scouts council announced Monday that the men involved in the Oct. 11 event at Goblin Valley State Park have been removed from their posts. The news release doesn't name the men, but Glenn Taylor and Dave Hall have taken responsibility for what happened.

They say the rock formation was loose and they feared it was dangerous. They were leading a group of teenage Boy Scouts on a trip when it happened.

The Boy Scouts of America condemned the men's actions last week, and said action could be taken after a review of the incident.

Meanwhile, one of the Boy Scout leaders involved in the incident is now facing questions over a personal injury lawsuit he filed last month in which he claimed to have been "debilitated" by the accident.

Glenn Taylor, the man who is seen actually dislodging and pushing the rock to the ground, filed a personal injury lawsuit against a woman and her father for injuries he says he suffered in a 2009 car crash.

Taylor, of Highland, sued Alan MacDonald in September, claiming his daughter caused a 2009 car crash that left him with debilitating injuries. Taylor's claim states that, due to the accident, he injured his back and had to "endure great pain and suffering, disability, impairment, loss of joy of life," reports CBS Station KUTV. Taylor also says in the lawsuit that the accident was "debilitating."

MacDonald said he was surprised when he saw the lawsuit come across his desk, as no one had gone to the hospital following the 2009 accident.

After watching the viral video of Taylor pushes a large boulder from its perch, MacDonald told KUTV that he thinks Taylor doesn't look debilitated at all.

"He's climbing over other rocks," he said, "then he lines up, gets leverage and pushes that big old rock several times before he finally pushes it over. Then he turns and twists and high-fives and yucks it up and flexes his muscles.

"He just doesn't look like a terribly disabled person to me," he said.

When asked by KUTV correspondent Chris Jones if he had filed a lawsuit claiming to be debilitated, Taylor replied, "Yes, from four years ago."

"You don't seem very debilitated [on the video]," Jones said,

"You didn't see how hard I pushed," Taylor replied.

"It looked like you were pushing pretty hard," the reporter said.

"You don't have my authority to put this online, to put this on the news," Taylor said, ending the conversation.

To watch the raw video of the Utah rock-toppling, click on the video player below.