Utah hiker, 37, killed after boulder crushes her, police say
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Utah woman was killed after she was crushed by a boulder while hiking on Stansbury Island, police said. (FOX13 Salt Lake City)
A Utah woman was killed Saturday after she was crushed by a boulder while hiking on Stansbury Island, police said.
The 37-year-old woman, who was not identified, was hiking with her husband and friend when she was hit by a boulder that was 4-feet-by-4-feet-by-2-feet thick, Tooele County Sheriff’s Lt. Travis Scharmann told FOX13. The group was hiking when the accident occurred and making their way down the mountain to the Stansbury trailhead, located about 23 miles west of Salt Lake City.
“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,” Scharmann said. “[The boulder is] way too heavy, they’ve had three or four people try to move it off of her at one time and they couldn’t budge it.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}AVALANCHE BURIES BACKCOUNTRY SKIER IN UTAH BEFORE DRAMATIC RESCUE, HELMET VIDEO SHOWS
Hikers called 911 around 3 p.m. after hearing the woman’s husband and friend screaming for help, the sheriff’s office said. The woman, who most likely died on impact, was trapped underneath the boulder for nearly four hours.
Her body was recovered around 6:45 p.m. Saturday after rescuers used battery-operated Jaws of Life to remove the rock, FOX13 reported.
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Officials said they believe the rain and snow on Saturday may have caused the massive rock to come loose.