Authorities are investigating the death of a 29-year-old woman who was fatally struck by a tree limb while hiking through a grove of sequoia trees in Yosemite National Park.
Angela Lin was hit by a wayward branch on July 19, according to the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office. Lin, who grew up in Los Angeles County, worked as a software engineer for Google, according to news reports and social media posts.
A sheriff’s deputy responded to Tuolumne Grove shortly before 6 p.m. to take possession of the body and help with the investigation. Autopsy results show her death was accidental, resulting from blunt injuries, the Sheriff’s Office said.
A National Park Service spokesperson said the incident was under investigation, but did not provide any additional details.
SFGate reported the incident occurred about a mile from the parking lot in Tuolumne Grove. Lin’s partner, David Hua, told the news outlet that they heard a loud cracking sound from above before a tree limb fell onto her. She was knocked to the ground and never regained consciousness, Hua told the outlet.
He called 911 and performed CPR on her until a park ranger arrived. An ambulance arrived shortly after, but paramedics did not take her. Hua said that she died at the scene of the accident, surrounded by the giant sequoias that line the hiking trail.
Lin lived in Mountain View, attended the University of Texas at Austin and grew up in Los Angeles County, according to a memorial page set up for her funeral services.
Tuolumne Grove is home to about two dozen mature giant sequoias and is a popular destination in the park. The area was temporarily closed after the incident, park officials said.
Historically, Yosemite National Park has seen a few fatal incidents every year.
In September, the body of a 61-year-old hiker was found in the park after he did not return from a solo hike around Ostrander Lake, about 30 miles south of Tuolumne Grove.
In July 2024, a 20-year-old woman died when she lost her footing on the cable suspension system on Half Dome and fell about 200 feet. Half Dome is about 18 miles east of Tuolumne Grove.
In March, an unidentified woman was found wounded inside a facility at the park. Officials did not provide any details at the time surrounding her identity and she later died at a Fresno County hospital.
