She Stepped on a Rock. It Came Loose—and Killed Her

Utah hiker, 37, thought to have died on impact, but was trapped underneath boulder for hours
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 4, 2019 2:44 PM CST
She Stepped on a Rock. It Came Loose—and Killed Her
File photo of Stansbury Island.   (Getty Images / johnnya123)

A 37-year-old Utah woman hiking with her husband and a friend was killed Saturday in a freak accident. The unidentified woman was making her way down a mountain on Stansbury Island in the Great Salt Lake when she was crushed by a "4 foot by 4 foot by 2 foot thick" boulder, a Tooele County sheriff's lieutenant says, per KSLA. "She stepped on the rock, this rock started moving, her foot got caught, she fell over in front of the rock and the rock slid over on top of her," he says, per Fox News; multiple people tried and failed to move the boulder off her. Police believe she died on impact, but she was trapped under the boulder for four hours, until rescuers using the Jaws of Life were able to extricate her body. Authorities say recent rain and snow may have caused the rock to come loose; the area is known to have unstable soil. (They sought adventure, died while pursuing it.)

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