Cell Phone May Have Distracted Teen In Fatal Fall

Posted: 3:21 pm PDT July 19, 2010
Updated: 4:48 pm PDT July 20, 2010

MARIN CO., Calif. -- A 17-year-old boy visiting with his Pennsylvania family who fell to his death while hiking on the Coastal Trail near the Muir Beach Overlook Monday afternoon may have been distracted by his cell phone, according to authorities.

The boy fell 400 to 500 feet from the trail three-quarters of a mile south of Muir Beach around 1 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene about an hour later, Golden Gate National Recreation Area spokeswoman Alexandra Picavet said.

Three members of the boy's family were with him when he fell and two other family members were in the parking lot at nearby Muir Beach, Picavet said.

A relative who saw the boy fall notified the boy's father, who climbed down the cliff, Picavet said.

The Muir Beach Volunteer Fire Department arrived first, according to Picavet.

“When they got there, the father had already reached his son by going down a trail along the cliff face. He had already been there for about 20 minutes,” said Picavet. “They began CPR, but there were no signs of life when they began CPR,”

The Coast Trail is wide and clearly marked near the beach. Authorities said early reports indicate the teen may have been talking or texting on his cell phone and simply walked over the edge.

“You should not be distracted by cell phones or iPods or any other distracting agent,” explained Picavet.

A Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter moved the body to Muir Beach where a coroner's van removed it.

One long time hiker in this area said the trail is back a bit from the edge of the cliff and is marked with signs clearly to warn people to stay on the trail.

He said the victim had to make an effort to get close to the edge.

“I think he had to try real hard,” said the Mill Valley resident who only gave his name as Eric. “The trail doesn't go that close to get somewhere like that.”

Another visitor said she can understand how being on a cell phone can take away your attention from something as simple as hiking.

“You can get so engrossed in what you're doing you forget you're doing something else,” said Amelian Kauffman of Oakland.

The family from West Chester, 25 miles west of Philadelphia, planned to visit Muir Woods next, Picavet said.

The park service said it will conduct a full investigation to determine exactly what happened on the trail.

From: http://www.ktvu.com/news/24315341/detail.html