On the afternoon of July 19, Angela Lin, a 29-year-old Google software engineer, was hiking in Yosemite National Park in California with her boyfriend and two friends. They were walking along the Tuolumne Grove paved trail, about a mile from the parking lot, admiring the giant sequoias when suddenly there was a loud noise from above.
A few seconds later, branches started falling from the sky. Angela’s boyfriend, David Hua, told SFGATE, “A large branch hit Angela, and then many smaller branches fell behind me.”
Hua said that when the branches fell, he closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he saw Angela lying on the ground with blood around her head. He immediately called 911 and performed CPR until a park ranger arrived. An ambulance soon followed, but Angela was not taken to the hospital.
The emergency responders later informed Hua that the fallen branch likely killed his girlfriend on the spot.
“It’s unimaginable that something like this could happen,” Hua trembled on the phone, “especially on such a popular trail.”
Scott Gediman, a public affairs officer at Yosemite, told SFGATE that the incident is still under investigation and there is no further information available at the moment.
“We are seeking more information from the park service regarding this incident, especially about trail safety, maintenance of problematic trees along popular trails, and how to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Hua wrote in an email.
Though rare, incidents of visitors being struck and killed by trees or branches in Yosemite do occur. Last October, during a windy day, Australian hiker Harry Partington was crushed to death by a falling tree on the Four Mile trail connecting Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point. According to the Union Democrat, a German woman was also injured and airlifted to a hospital with unclear conditions.
At that time, Gediman advised park visitors to always “be aware of their surroundings.”
Back in August 2015, two high school students were sleeping in their tent at Upper Pines Campground when an oak branch fell, killing both instantly.
Hua mentioned that there was no wind the day Angela passed away. It was a clear afternoon.
SFGATE reported that Angela Lin graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and later obtained a Master’s degree in science from the University of Texas at Austin. She had worked as an engineer in the Bay Area of California for most of the past six years, initially at Salesforce and later at Google.
“We have lost a dearly beloved and respected team member,” Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini told SFGATE. “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy, and our hearts are with her family and loved ones.”