Hiker dies after jumping from popular cliff in San Gabriel Mountains
An 18-year-old man who was fatally injured near a popular hiking trail in the San Gabriel Mountains died after jumping 50 feet down into a pond, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday.
The man, identified as Jesse Khan Yuth of Signal Hill, dove from the top of Hermit Falls in Monrovia before 8:45 a.m. while his teenage friends looked on.
After Yuth dove into the water and surfaced unresponsive, two friends jumped in to rescue him, authorities said. But Yuth was pronounced dead at the scene.
The teen’s friends suffered hypothermia trying to save him and were airlifted out – they’re expected to fully recover, officials said.
Sheriff’s deputies usually respond to reports of injured hikers at the falls during the summer because some visitors dive into the creek, said Lt. Loy McBride. But it’s unusual for a hiker to be injured or killed this time of year, he said.
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