CALIFORNIA — A 29-year-old Google software engineer tragically lost her life earlier this month in a freak accident while hiking along a popular trail in Yosemite National Park, when a massive branch from one of the park’s iconic sequoia trees suddenly broke off and struck her.
Angela Lin, a gifted and respected engineer who previously worked for Salesforce and most recently for Google, had been hiking through the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias on July 19 with her boyfriend, David Hua, and two friends when disaster struck.
According to Hua, the group was walking along the well-trodden trail when they heard a loud crack from above. “One big branch struck Angela, and then there were a bunch of smaller ones directly behind me,” Hua told SFGate.
By the time Hua opened his eyes after instinctively shutting them during the chaos, Lin was lying face-up on the ground, motionless, with blood pooling around her head. He immediately called 911 and performed CPR until a park ranger arrived to take over. Although an ambulance eventually reached the scene, Lin was never transported. Emergency responders said she likely died instantly from the blow.
“It was just unimaginable that something like this could occur,” Hua said in a phone interview, his voice trembling. “On such a popular trail, too.”
A Promising Life Cut Short
Angela Lin’s tragic death stunned both the tech and academic communities. She had earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley, where she met Hua, and later completed her master’s in computer science at the University of Texas at Austin. She worked diligently through the ranks at Salesforce before joining Google, where she had been a software engineer for several years.
“We lost a loved and respected member of our team,” a Google spokesperson told The Post. “We’re very saddened by this tragedy, and our hearts are with their family and loved ones.”
Friends and former colleagues recalled Lin as exceptionally intelligent, warm, and humble. “Angela was obviously whip-smart, but she led with a simple and playful attitude,” said Ian Cook, a close friend from her Berkeley days. “That mix of confidence and humility put folks around her at ease.”
Richard Zhang, a research scientist who shared lab time with Lin in undergrad, remembered her kindness during crunch periods. “She’d stay through the late nights before a paper deadline and thoughtfully treat us to chocolate to keep our spirits up,” he said.
A Growing Pattern of Tragedy in Yosemite
Lin’s death adds to a list of recent tragedies in Yosemite. Last summer, Grace Rohloff, a college student, died after slipping and falling 200 feet from the Half Dome cables during a storm. In October 2024, 22-year-old Australian hiker Harry Partington was crushed by a falling tree on the Four Mile Trail. In 2015, two high schoolers were killed by a falling oak branch while sleeping in a tent, and in 2012, a concessions worker died under similar circumstances during a windstorm.
Yet what makes Lin’s case so uniquely unsettling is the complete lack of typical risk factors. Hua emphasized there was no wind, and Lin — known for her caution — had stayed on the trail and taken no dangerous detours.
“The sad thing is that Angela is the most cautious person you can be,” said Hua. “She stays on trails. She never goes off trails. Usually when you hear about these incidents, someone is doing something dangerous — like playing in water or near a cliff. But that wasn’t her.”
Frustration with Park Officials and Demand for Answers
In the wake of the tragedy, the Tuolumne Grove trail was closed for about a week. Park officials say an investigation is ongoing, but according to Hua and Lin’s loved ones, communication from the National Park Service has been minimal.
“We are seeking more information from the park service regarding this incident,” said Hua, “especially around trail safety, maintenance, awareness of problematic trees on popular trails, and future prevention of similar incidents.”
Yosemite public affairs officer Scott Gediman confirmed to SFGate that the investigation remains active. However, the park has not publicly addressed specific safety concerns related to the tree or trail.
The lack of transparency has left not only Lin’s loved ones but also bystanders emotionally shaken. One tourist who witnessed the incident created a Reddit thread titled “Tuolumne Grove Incident 7/19,” writing: “I am a tourist, but was on the scene of an extremely tragic freak accident… and it has been haunting me. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
The user added: “It hits so so hard because they were doing nothing wrong or careless… Life can be so cruel.”
A Devastating Loss for Many
As friends, coworkers, and strangers alike try to come to terms with the sudden loss of a young, vibrant life, Angela Lin is being remembered not only for her technical brilliance but also her kindness, humor, and steady presence.
“She was just the most thoughtful, grounded person,” said Hua. “We’ve been best friends since college. Her death is a devastating loss — to me, to her family, to everyone who knew her.”
