YOSEMITE, Calif. - Yosemite National Park is investigating a freak and deadly accident involving fallen tree branches that claimed the life of a 29-year-old Google software engineer.
What we know:
The victim was hiking in the park through Tuolumne Grove on July 19, when branches came down on her, her boyfriend, and two other friends, the boyfriend David Hua told SF Gate, which first reported on the accident.
Hua his girlfriend, Angela Lin, was struck and killed by one those falling branches.
"It was just unimaginable that something like this could occur on such a popular trail, too," Hua told SFGate.
Hue recounted how moments before the deadly incident, the four of them heard a loud cracking above them.
"Two to three seconds later, branches fell out of the sky," Hua said, adding, "One big branch struck Angela, and then there were a bunch of smaller ones directly behind me."
The boyfriend said he shut his eyes as the branches came down. When he opened his eyes, he found his girlfriend on the ground, her head bleeding.
Hua said he started performing CPR on Lin. A park ranger arrived and took over until paramedics rushed in.
The boyfriend said he was told that she was likely killed instantly by the branch that hit her.
What we don't know:
KTVU reached out to coroner's officials with the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office to see if they've determined a cause of death, but have not yet heard back.
Yosemite National Park said it was not releasing any details about the accident. In an email, park spokesman Scott Gedimen told KTVU, "The incident is still under investigation. There is no further information available."
Bay Area tech worker
Lin began her career with Google in 2022.
In a statement to KTVU, a Google spokesperson said, "We lost a loved and respected member of our team. We’re very saddened by this tragedy, and our hearts are with their family and loved ones."
UC Berkeley grad
She attended UC Berkeley, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science before receiving her master’s degree and phD at the University of Texas at Austin.
A shaken witness posted about the accident on Reddit a day after it occurred, as the person sought updates on what happened to the victim.
"I am a tourist, but was on the scene of an extremely tragic freak accident in the area trying to provide aide, and it has been haunting me," Reddit user papaafrita wrote.
After receiving comments and an update on the platform, the tourist wrote, "It is such a heartbreaking situation, and I hope that the family and friends of Angela can work towards finding peace."
