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PROVO CANYON — A woman was badly injured Monday after being hit by a falling rock at Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon.
According to the Utah County Sheriff's Office, a slab of rock broke loose between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m., rolled down the mountainside and hit a woman between 60 and 70 years old who was walking with her husband on the trail below the falls. Officials said the rock was approximately 24 inches wide and 2 to 3 inches deep.
The office said about 50 people were hiking the trail above the falls and several reported seeing the rock falling, though they weren't sure where it broke loose from.
"One of the witnesses said it went right in front of him, and he was trying to forewarn people down at the bottom and yelled out 'rock.' Unfortunately, the elderly female was hit in the back and her head," said Sgt. Garrett Dutson with the Utah County Sheriff's Office.
Dutson said witnesses attended to the woman until first responders arrived. She was taken to Utah Valley Regional Hospital with serious injuries to her back and head, however, she was alert and talking when she left Bridal Veil Falls.
"If you're up in that area, especially with the loose rock, be very, very cautious. Stay on the trail. Don't try to go above the trailway or make your own little trail. Don't go in areas that look super dangerous," Dutson said.
