Woman dies at popular hiking area while trying to aid teen girl who slipped

DESCANSO, Calif. — A California woman died Thursday after falling from a ledge at a popular Southern California hiking trail, authorities said.

>> Read more trending news

According to a news release from the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office, Sarah Louise Crocker, 48, of Ladera Beach, died after falling at Three Sisters Falls in the Cleveland National Forest, located in an unincorporated area of Descanso.

The incident happened shortly before 10 a.m. PDT, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

According to a news release from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, Crocker and four teens were hiking along the ledge of one of the waterfalls when one of the teens slipped.

Crocker attempted to prevent the girl from falling over the ledge, but they both fell and suffered severe injuries, the sheriff’s office said.

“The woman supervising the teenagers attempted to keep the girl from going over the ledge,” sheriff’s department spokesperson Lt. Jeff Ford told the Times of San Diego. “Unfortunately, both the woman and girl fell and suffered severe injuries.”

The medical examiner’s office said the fall caused Crocker to drown after suffering from “multiple blunt-force injuries,” particularly in the chest and right pelvis area, KGTV reported.

Crocker died at the scene, the Union-Tribune reported. The 15-year-old teen was taken to an area hospital by helicopter with serious injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening, according to the newspaper. The teen injured her neck and back, KGTV reported.

According to the U.S. Forest Service website, Three Sisters Falls, located in eastern San Diego County, is described as an “often crowded, yet challenging” hiking area that contains three large waterfalls.

“The sheriff’s department does respond to multiple injuries and rescues in that area every year,” Ford said in a statement to CNN. “We have had fatal accidents out there in the past, but fatalities are a rare occurrence.”