A 16-year-old boy was killed Wednesday when he slipped off or intentionally leaped from an 80-foot bluff above a pond in the East County highlands, hitting his head on a boulder on the way down, authorities said.
The accident at Cedar Creek Falls, a secluded spot in Cleveland National Forest popular with sightseers and thrill-seeking cliff jumpers, was reported shortly after 11:30 a.m., authorities said.
A San Diego teen died Wednesday at the popular hiking destination, Cedar Creek Falls in the Cleveland National Forest. Credit: beeron2003/flick.com/creative commons
Friends of the El Cajon youth made a 911 call and carried him up a steep slope to a clearing, where an emergency-services helicopter crew picked him up, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Mohler said.
The boy was flown to a Ramona-area fire station, where he was pronounced dead. His name was withheld pending family notification.
A boy struck by the falling teen was airlifted to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido for treatment of apparently minor injuries, according to Mohler.
The remote area is a growing problem for Cal Fire and other public agencies, as more visitors become stranded there without enough water or proper footwear for the challenging hike out, according to Mohler.
Last weekend, emergency crews transported 10 or more injured, dehydrated or heat-exhausted people out of the rugged locale. And over the years, many youths have been injured trying to leap from the cliffs surrounding the shallow, rocky pool at the bottom of the falls.
“We’ve had a real issue with this place,” Capt. Mohler said.
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I had many friends who knew this poor boy. He was loved by so many. :/
R.I.P Joe Meram<3 love you stay strong up in heaven. Iv known you my entire life an you never deserved this:( it's so unreal I thought it was someone else when I herd someoen say Joe but now knowing it's you I can't stop crying<3 my heart goes out to him his family and everyone who loved this poor innocent man<3 they always say the good die young<3
kid is dumb for doing taht,,, what where those kids thnking or do they think before they do something stupid