Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Hiker killed on Kaaawa trail was pregnant woman from Utah

The 34-year-old woman who died Saturday after being struck by falling rocks while hiking along the Makaua Hidden Valley Trail was from Salt Lake City, officials said.

The woman was 6 months pregnant, sources told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office said Sunday it wasn’t yet releasing the name of the woman, who was on the Kaaawa hike with her husband.

Since the accident happened, the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii has been assisting the woman’s husband, “and we’re going to continue to assist him for the next couple of days,” said Jessica Lani Rich, VASH President and chief executive.

Rich said a variety of support is being extended to the husband. “Other family members are flying in, so we’re extending our aloha and support to them as well,” she said.

The Honolulu Fire Department responded to a 12:35 p.m. emergency call and dispatched five units, including HFD’s rescue helicopter, and 16 personnel who first arrived on the scene by 1:04 p.m. The woman was found at 1:31 p.m. unconscious, with no pulse and not breathing, according to an HFD report.

She was airlifted to a landing zone established at Swanzy Beach Park, transferred to the care of Emergency Medical Services and later pronounced dead.

The tragedy was a reminder of the Mother’s Day, May 9, 1999, rockslide at Sacred Falls State Park in Hauula that killed eight and injured 50. The park was closed after the tragedy.

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