Woman dies after attempting to save a teen who slipped at California waterfall
A 48-year-old woman hiking a waterfall outside of San Diego with four teenagers died after she and one of the teens went over the ledge, according to local officials.
It happened on June 8 at the Three Sisters Falls in the Cleveland National Forest.
The local medical examiner identified the woman as Sarah Louise Crocker of Ladera Ranch, California. The teen, who survived the fall, has not been identified.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that Crocker was trying to help the teenage girl after she had slipped.
“The woman supervising the teenagers attempted to keep the girl from going over the ledge,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, both the woman and girl fell and suffered severe injuries.”
Deputies said “several” witnesses tried to help after Crocker’s fall but she died at the scene. The teenager was taken by helicopter to a local hospital for “severe but non-life-threatening injuries,” according to officials.
The medical examiner said Crocker died from multiple blunt-force injuries, “especially chest and right pelvis with drowning.” She and the teenage family friend had been in the “middle pool” of the three falls, the report said.
According to the Forest Service website, the Three Sisters Falls hike is 4.5 miles and “moderate to strenuous.” It features “three large waterfalls wedged between tall, rocky mountains.”
The website also notes the trail has “recently” been redeveloped with a “safer and more direct route to the falls, which alleviates the requirement to rock/mountain climb, lowering injury risks and casualty rate.”
In a 2018 feature, the Forest Service website wrote that during a wet year, the falls can see heavy water flow, “resulting in higher than average falls.”
“In prime conditions, the ‘middle sister’ is impressive, with waterfalls cascading 50 feet into a kidney shaped pool estimated to be about 10 feet deep,” the Forest Service warned in the 2018 write up. “Be careful trekking this area — the years of water runoff has left the large boulders incredibly smooth, making slips and falls common.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
