63-Year-Old Peninsula Woman Rescued After Fall at Yosemite

PALO ALTO - A 63-year-old Palo Alto woman was rescued after she fell off a path at Yosemite National Park over the weekend, according to the California Highway Patrol.

On Saturday evening, a CHP helicopter crew responded to a rescue for 63-year-old Sue Hopley, a Palo Alto resident, who was hiking on the Nevada Fall trail and slipped on ice.

She fell backwards and went down 10 feet before she landed on granite, according to the CHP. She seriously injured her back and was unable to walk, officials said.

Park search and rescue personnel assisted Hopley but were unable to carry her out because of the hazardous conditions, according to the CHP. A search and rescue team member sheltered her in place through the overnight hours, officials said.

The next morning, a helicopter crew carried out the rescue by landing at the top of Nevada Falls, and flew Hopley to Ahwahnee Meadow, where park paramedics came to her aid, according to the CHP.

The Palo Alto woman was later airlifted to a hospital in the Modesto area to be treated for a possible fractured back, officials said.

-Bay City News; video via CHP; image of Vernal Fall from the Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park by Elliott Wolf, and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.