A woman hiking in Yosemite National Park in California was killed last month by a falling tree branch, the local sheriff’s office confirmed this week.
Angela Lin, 29, a Google software engineer, was hiking near some of Yosemite’s large sequoia trees on July 19 with her boyfriend and two others at the time of the incident. The group heard a crack shortly before multiple branches fell.
“Two to three seconds later, branches fell out of the sky. One big branch struck Angela, and then there were a bunch of smaller ones directly behind me,” Ms. Lin’s boyfriend, David Hua, told SFGATE.
The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Ms. Lin’s death was accidental and caused by blunt force from the branch, according to the New York Times.
The grove where the branch fell was closed for a week following the incident. Yosemite National Park spokesman Scott Gediman told Fresno’s KSEE that “the incident remains under investigation.”
The sheriff’s office, meanwhile, said it’s not taking the lead on investigating Ms. Lin’s death.
“We were not very involved; our role was assisting in the investigation into the cause and manner of death by facilitating the autopsy,” Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Boujikian told local news site myMotherLode.com.
As for her loved ones, “We are seeking more information from the park service regarding this incident, especially around trail safety, maintenance and awareness of problematic trees on popular trails, and future prevention of similar incidents,” Mr. Hua told SFGATE.
Google said in a statement to USA Today, “We lost a loved and respected member of our team. We’re very saddened by this tragedy, and our hearts are with their family and loved ones.”
Ms. Lin’s funeral is scheduled for next Saturday.
