Zipline Employee Falls 100 Feet To His Death After Saving Dangling Woman

A man died on Monday, Nov. 1, after falling over 100 feet in the air in an attempt to save a woman who was attached to a zipline, worried that their collective weight could kill them both in the process.

Joaquin Romero, a 34-year-old man from Banning, California, was working on the Zip Zoom Zipline inside the La Jolla Indian Reservation on Saturday as he attempted to help a zip line rider stay alive when they both accidentally slipped away from the zipline platform, ABC 10 News reported.

The woman was being hooked to the zipline on the platform when she started slipping away from the receiving area. Unable to stop her, Romero grabbed onto her harness, causing them to slip away further from the platform, according to Fox 5.

When he realized that their collective weight could endanger the woman’s life, Romero let go of the harness. Emergency services found Romero with major trauma injuries, pulling him to the road through a low-angle rope system before being airlifted to Sharp Memorial Hospital.

After being admitted to the hospital, its staff realized that there was very little that they could do in order to save Romero’s life, and his family instead placed him on comfort care until he was finally declared dead on Monday, the county medical examiner said.

The La Jolla Indian Reservation has expressed shock and grief over the death of Romero and has stated that an internal investigation is on its way in order to improve the safety measures they currently have in the area.

“We are saddened and heartbroken over the recent tragic accident involving one of our employees at the La Jolla Zip Zoom Zipline. The Tribe, Tribal officials, employees, and Tribal members extend our sincere condolences to our employee and his family for their loss.” Norma Contreras, tribal chairwoman, said.

The woman at the zipline whom Romero saved reportedly suffered no injuries.