Hiker dies at Runyon Canyon Park after falling ill
A hiker died at Runyon Canyon Park on Sunday after falling ill, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
A fire helicopter joined ground crews in responding to reports of a male adult hiker who had collapsed and stopped breathing just before 2:30 p.m., authorities said.
Less than an hour later, the LAFD tweeted that the man had died on the trail at the popular hiking destination.
“He was just walking and then he just tumbled and lost consciousness,” John Zahedi, who witnessed the hiker’s collapse, told KTLA-TV.
Jenny Gittler, a nurse who was on the trail at the time, administered CPR to the man for seven minutes before the EMTs arrived by helicopter.
“He was blue in the face, blue on the hands and toes, and his pulse was 25 a minute,” Gittler told the TV station.
It was not immediately clear what caused the hiker to collapse. LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey said the coroner would determine if the death was heat-related.
The hiker died as temperatures in Southern California soared throughout the area on Sunday. He had not yet been identified.
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