Hiker Killed, 2 Injured In Diving Accident In San Gabriel Mountains
ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST (CBSLA.com) — One hiker was killed and two others were injured Wednesday while diving into pools in the San Gabriel Mountains.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatched just after 8:45 a.m. to the 2200 block of Santa Anita Canyon Road near Hermit Falls, officials said.
Authorities say they were responding to a reported drowning when they found the deceased person.
The coroner identified the deceased as Jesse Khan Yuth, 18, of Signal Hill. He was declared dead at the scene.
CBS2's Amy Johnson said Yuth jumped about 50 feet from a rock into the pool at the bottom of Hermit Falls about 9 a.m.
She spoke to one witness who didn't want to give his name.
"One kid was coming up yelling 'Help!' " said the witness. "The kid was already on the rock, not breathing. Unconscious."
Yuth and several friends were diving into the water. After Yuth jumped in, his friends knew something was wrong.
"They jump into the water," said LA County Sheriff's Sgt. Chaffey Shepherd, "and take turns, and when this individual jumped into the water, he didn't come up right away. When he finally did come up, they noticed he was bleeding from the nose. Two individuals jumped into the water to rescue him. They pulled him out of the water and noticed that he wasn't breathing."
His friends began CPR and called for help but it was too late. Yuth was pronounced dead by responding firefighters.
The two friends who tried to rescue Yuth were airlifted to Foothill Presbyterian Hospital, where they were treated for hypothermia.
The friends have since been released, Johnson reported.
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