Mom Dies After Tree Falls on Her While Hiking with Son’s Boy Scout Troop on Popular Calif. Trail
Officials in California say a mother has died after she was hit by a falling tree while on a hike with her son’s Boy Scout troop over the weekend.
The Santa Clara County Fire Department (SCCFD) said the woman was struck by the tree at Rancho San Antonio County Park in Cupertino around 10 a.m. Sunday morning. The incident occurred at a popular hiking trail, per CBS News.
The woman, who has not been identified publicly, was on a group hike with her son and other members of a Sunnyvale Boy Scout troop when the tree came down on top of her, according to CBS affiliate KPIX and FOX affiliate KTVU.
The victim received medical assistance after crews pulled her out from underneath the tree, but was later pronounced dead, the SCCFD said on Twitter.
The SCCFD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The woman’s death was confirmed in a statement released Sunday by Eric Tarbox, Scout executive/CEO, Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council of Boy Scouts of America, according to KPIX and NBC affiliate KNTV.
Tarbox said the woman was “the parent of a Scout,” who was participating in the pre-planned hike Sunday morning.
Witnesses said the woman hesitated as the tree came down without warning to make sure her 17-year-old son wasn’t in the way, according to KTVU.
Several witnesses rushed over to help. One of the witnesses, named Surya, said the group attempted to move the tree off the woman to try and help her breathe, according to KPIX and KTVU.
“We lifted it a little bit, enough so that there was a clearance and we put a rock underneath so that it wasn’t touching the body,” said Surya, the father of another Boy Scout. “That was the best we could do.”
Crews arrived a short time later and pulled the woman from her precarious position, according to KPIX.
Capt. Matt Mokhtarian, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Fire Department, said firefighters attempted life-saving measures, but were unable to save the victim, per the outlet.
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Matt Anderson, Chief Ranger of the Mid-Peninsula Open Space District, said falling trees are common in the area at this time of year — and especially after their recent round of rain and snow — “due to saturated soils,” according to KTVU.
“It’s just an unfortunate tragedy that you go out for a hike in a relatively calm morning and have this kind of thing happen,” Anderson said, per KPIX.
