California woman falls to her death after trying to save teen at Three Sisters Falls
A woman fell to her death Thursday after attempting to keep a teenage girl who had slipped from going over a ledge at Three Sisters Falls in the Cleveland National Forest, authorities said.
Sarah Louise Crocker, 48, was hiking with four teenagers near one of the waterfalls at the San Diego trail when the teen slipped, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
“The woman supervising the teenagers attempted to keep the girl from going over the ledge,” the sheriff’s department said in the release. “Unfortunately, both the woman and girl fell and suffered severe injuries.”
Deputies responded to the incident at around 10 a.m. local time. Several people who witnessed the accident tried to help Crocker and the teenager, the sheriff’s department said.
Crocker was reported dead at the scene. Responders transported the teen, via helicopter, to a hospital for severe but non-life-threatening injuries.
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Sarah Crocker tried to help a family friend who lost her footing
Crocker, who lived in Ladera Ranch, California, was with family and friends at Three Sisters Falls, the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release.
Crocker and the teenage girl were in the middle pool of the waterfalls when the teenager lost her footing. Both Crocker and the teen went “over the edge of the waterfall and landed in the bottom-most pool" of the water, the examiner’s office said in the release.
“911 was called and bystander CPR was initiated. Responding rescue personnel were unable to resuscitate the (deceased) and her death was pronounced,” the examiner’s office said.
Three Sisters Falls is described as a “challenging hike” that takes hikers through several ecosystems, including “three large waterfalls wedged between tall, rocky mountains,” the U.S. Forest Service said on its website.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman falls to her death trying to save teen at Three Sisters Falls
