Santa Cruz woman killed by fallen tree at Pogonip Park

UPDATE 10/28/2019 5:30 p.m. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has identified a woman killed by a fallen tree in Santa Cruz.

The Sheriff’s Office said 55-year-old Deseire Quintero from Santa Cruz was at a campsite in Poginip Park when a tree fell on her. She died at the scene.

A man also had hip and chest injuries as a result of the fallen tree.

PREVIOUS STORY: A woman is dead and a man is injured after a tree fell onto them in Pogonip Park, off the Rincon Trail in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz Police say they responded to an emergency call of a tree falling on top of someone and were directed by a hiker to a small campsite approximately 200 yards off the main trail.

Officers located a male victim who sustained injuries to his hip and chest area, as well as an unconscious adult woman found partially under a fallen tree.

The responding officers rendered aid, but the woman was declared dead at the scene.

The man was transported to a trauma center in San Jose.

No other victims were located.

The Santa Cruz Coroner’s office is investigating the identity of the victim.

There is currently a high wind advisory and Santa Cruz Police ask people to stay on main hiking trails and obey the signs of areas that are declared closed to the public.

When asked about what may have caused the tree to fall, city of Santa Cruz urban forester Leslie Keedy said, “This is an open space forested area, and it was an act of nature, not a known condition.”

If you have any information regarding this case, you are asked to contact the Santa Cruz Police Department Investigations Unit at (831) 420-5820.