It is not clear whether immediate first aid might have altered this unfortunate outcome.....


Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Yellowstone Visitor Killed By Falling Tree

A 36-year old man from Taiwan was killed by a falling tree on Monday afternoon June 9th. He was part of a small family group hiking the Fairy Falls trail, which is north of the Old Faithful area.

The man had left the trail and ascended a nearby tree-covered slope in an apparent attempt to get a better view of Grand Prismatic Spring, when a lodgepole pine tree fell and struck him in the head. Visitors who witnessed the incident made their way back to the trailhead, about a half mile from the accident. They encountered two park maintenance employees working in the area, who relayed the information to Yellowstone law enforcement rangers via radio.

Rangers/Paramedics immediately responded and found that the man had sustained a serious head wound and that he was bleeding profusely. A life flight was ordered up and was en route while rangers provided ALS interventions, placed the man into a wheeled litter, then moved him to the life flight landing zone. Just as the helicopter landed, his condition deteriorated, and attempts to revive him failed. He was declared dead at the scene.

Rangers and a NPS Coroner are continuing to investigate. Responders reported windy weather conditions in the area at the time. The fallen tree had been a standing, dead lodgepole, fire-killed during the park’s 1988 fires. Ranger/Paramedic Dennis Lojko was the incident commander.