The victim has been identified as 52-year-old Lillian Rodriguez
NEED TO KNOW
- A 52-year-old hiker died after being struck by a “large boulder” on a popular trail in Southern California on Sunday, June 14
- One passerby spoke with the woman before the fatal incident
- An investigation is ongoing
A 52-year-old woman is dead after she was struck by a boulder while hiking in Southern California.
On Sunday, June 14, at 3:14 p.m. local time, officials were dispatched to a hiking trail near the 900 block of South Fork Road in Lytle Creek, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. A woman had been hiking near Bonita Falls, a popular hiking spot in the San Bernardino National Forest, when callers told 911 dispatch that they saw her being struck by a falling tree branch or rock, Victor Valley News Group (VVNG) and the Victorville Daily Press reported. A search and rescue team went out to the remote location, but struggled to reach the victim, so they had to hike to the scene.
Once they arrived, the hiker, identified as Lillian Rodriguez, a 52-year-old woman from Redlands, Calif., was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff’s office said. A preliminary investigation revealed that Rodriguez was hiking near the falls when “a large boulder came down from the hillside and hit the woman in the head,” Jenny Smith, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told the Daily Press. “Sadly, she did not survive.”…