A tragic incident occurred Thursday, resulting in the death of a California woman who fell while attempting to assist a teenager who had slipped on the edge of a waterfall.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department says Sarah Louise Crocker, 48, was supervising a group of four teenagers near Three Sisters Falls in Descanso within the Cleveland National Forest. The accident took place shortly before 10 a.m.
According to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office, the group was hiking along the ledge of one of the falls when one of the teenagers lost their footing. Both Crocker and the teen, who was a family friend, fell from the ledge and landed in the pool of water below.
Witnesses who saw the incident initiated CPR on Crocker until emergency responders arrived. Despite their efforts, medical personnel were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The teenager survived the fall and was airlifted to a hospital for treatment of severe, yet non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff’s office said.
The medical examiner determined that Crocker’s cause of death was attributed to multiple blunt force injuries, particularly to her chest and right pelvis, along with drowning. The incident has been officially ruled as an accident.
Crocker, a native of California and resident of Ladera Ranch, leaves behind her husband and two children. A GoFundMe page has been established.
