Yosemite hiker dies after fall in park
FRESNO, Calif. - A teenage boy has died of head injuries five days after falling on Yosemite National Park's most popular hiking trail.
The Stanislaus County coroner says 17-year-old Kao Kue of Fresno died at a Modesto hospital Wednesday night.
According to park spokeswoman Kari Cobb, the teen was hiking the Mist Trail when he slipped.
The trail runs alongside Vernal Fall, and signs warn hikers that mist from the fall can make the trail slippery.
Cobb declined to discuss details of Kue's fall because he was a minor.
In May, a Texas man drowned in the Merced River when he slipped from the Mist Trail.
So far, 14 people have died this year at Yosemite, a modern record. Kue is not included in that count because he died outside of the park.
The 14th death was Haley LaFlamme, 26, who slipped to her death while descending the iconic Half Dome in the rain earlier this month.Three people were swept over Vernal Fall in July while taking photographs upstream in the Merced River. In 2007, seven people were killed at the park, the most in any recent year until this one.
Video: Yosemite waterfall victims remembered at vigil
One factor in the high number of deaths is a record snowfall that has created treacherous snowmelt, swelling streams and rivers at a time of year when nature in Yosemite is supposed to be relatively tranquil.