29-year-old Google engineer dies in freak accident – Business News
A 29-year-old Google software program engineer was killed in a freak accident at Yosemite National Park this month when a department from a giant sequoia tree fell and struck her on the pinnacle.
Angela Lin, who labored as a software program engineer for about six years at Salesforce after which Google, was mountaineering on July 19 together with her boyfriend and two mates on a path that wound via the Tuolumne Grove of towering sequoias.
Suddenly a giant crack sounded from above – and two seconds later, a number of branches from one of the famously huge trees got here tumbling down, in line with Lin’s boyfriend, David Hua.
Angela Lin, a 29-year-old software program engineer at Google. LinkedIn/Angela Lin
“One big branch struck Angela, and then there were a bunch of smaller ones directly behind me,” Hua informed SFGate.
As the branches fell, Hua mentioned he closed his eyes – and by the time he opened them, Lin was sprawled face up on the ground with blood pooling round her head.
Hua mentioned he known as 911 and carried out CPR till a park ranger arrived and took over.
An ambulance finally made it to the scene, however Lin was by no means positioned inside.
Emergency personnel later mentioned that the falling department had possible killed his girlfriend immediately, Hua mentioned.
“It was just unimaginable that something like this could occur,” Hua mentioned over the cellphone with a shaky voice, in line with SFGate.
“On such a popular trail, too.”
Tuolumne Grove, the realm the place Lin and her group had been mountaineering, was closed to guests for about a week after her death.
Yosemite public affairs officer Scott Gediman informed SFGate the incident remains to be below investigation.
Park officers didn’t instantly reply to The Post’s request for remark.
Tuolumne Grove was closed to guests for about a week after Angela Lin’s death. Getty Images
Hua mentioned Lin’s family members haven’t been capable of be taught more from the park service, and the irritating expertise has pushed them to go to the media.
“We are seeking more information from the park service regarding this incident, especially around trail safety, maintenance and awareness of problematic trees on popular trails, and future prevention of similar incidents,” Hua mentioned.
Traumatized bystanders have additionally been frantically looking for data on Lin, with one individual creating a Reddit post titled “Tuolumne Grove Incident 7/19” in hopes of discovering out whether or not Lin survived.
“I am a tourist, but was on the scene of an extremely tragic freak accident in the area trying to provide [aid], and it has been haunting me. I can’t stop thinking about it and can’t find any news articles updating about the situation,” the consumer wrote in a post on the Reddit thread.
“It hits so so hard because they were doing nothing wrong or careless… Life can be so cruel.”
Though uncommon, Yosemite has seen a number of tragic, deadly accidents over time.
Ellery Lake, situated alongside Tioga Pass close to Yosemite National Park’s east entrance. Getty Images
Last summer season, school pupil Grace Rohloff slipped and fell 200 toes to her death from the Half Dome cables during a storm – simply after telling her father: “Dad, my shoes are so slippery.”
Australian hiker Harry Partington, 22, was crushed and killed by a falling tree in October final yr on the park’s Four Mile path, which connects Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point.
In August 2015, two high college college students asleep in a tent have been killed by a falling oak tree limb.
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A concessions employee in 2012 died when a tree fell on his tent during a windstorm.
Lin’s death was notably weird, as she wasn’t camped below a tree and there was no wind on the day she died, in line with Hua.
“The sad thing is that Angela is the most cautious person you can be,” Hua mentioned.
Though uncommon, the national park has seen a number of tragic, deadly accidents over time. Getty Images
“She is super careful. She stays on trails. She never goes off trails. So, usually when you hear about these incidents, someone is doing something dangerous, like playing in water or near a cliff or something.”
Hua, who had been close with Lin since they attended school collectively at UC Berkeley, known as her death a “devastating loss.”
Ian Cook, who met Lin in their dorm building at UC Berkeley, mentioned Lin was a fast good friend.
“Angela was obviously whip-smart, but she led with a simple and playful attitude. That mix of confidence and humility put folks around her at ease,” Cook informed SFGate.
Research scientist Richard Zhang was in Lin’s undergraduate lab, and mentioned she stayed “through the late nights before the paper deadline” and “thoughtfully [treated] us to chocolate to keep our spirits up.”
After graduating together with her grasp’s degree from University of Texas at Austin, Lin labored in the Bay Area as an engineer at Google.
“We lost a loved and respected member of our team. We’re very saddened by this tragedy, and our hearts are with their family and loved ones,” a Google spokesperson informed The Post.
