Yosemite Hike Turns Tragic for Woman Who Ignored Signs

A California woman out for a hike in Yosemite National Park was killed Sunday, and National Park Service officials said Monday it's because she went where she wasn't supposed to go. Per the Fresno Bee, 56-year-old Xuan Wang was hit by ice and rock that fell from above as she hiked on the Mist Trail, which the NPS says is currently closed for the winter and clearly marked as such. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Wang was on the 3-mile trail leading up to Vernal Fall at around 12:30pm Sunday when she was struck by the debris.

The Cupertino woman died shortly after from her injuries. The Chronicle notes that falling debris is among the reasons the trail is shuttered in the colder months, in addition to other hazardous winter conditions. "Wang ignored the signs [and] went around the gate," the NPS said in a release. An investigation is underway, per the NPS. (More Yosemite National Park stories.)