I feel like it's been the deadliest summer ever. What's with everyone dying at national parks this year, right? The latest fatality comes from Niagara Falls, where a woman in her 20s is presumed dead after falling over the edge on Sunday. She and a friend were taking in the views on the Canadian side of the falls when one of them sat down on the rock, straddling the railing. When she went to stand back up, she slipped and fell. She dropped about 80 feet into the river below and hasn't yet been found, but the rescue searchers resumed looking this morning.
If it's not a waterfall that gets you, it's a grizzly bear, or a tree, or a glacier, or lightning. There have been so many unfortunate and terrifying accidents this summer -- let's review the deadly legacy that is the summer of 2011.
A father was killed in late June when a tree fell on the camping tent that he and his family were sharing. The tree's fall instantly killed the dad and injured the mother, but thankfully the kids walked away unscratched.
In early July, a 57-year-old man was killed by a grizzly bear at Yellowstone National Park. The man, who was hiking with his wife, accidentally stumbled upon a mama bear and her cubs, and the rest is unfortunate history.
In mid-July, three hikers went over the 317-foot Vernal waterfall in Yosemite. The two men and one woman are presumed dead.
A father and son were killed by lightning ... 48 years apart. Stephen Rooney, 54, was at a family picnic when he was fatally struck. His father died the same way in 1963. Creepy!
A 17-year-old hiker, Kao Kue, slipped and fell while on the Mist Trail in Yosemite last week and died due to the head injuries he sustained. He was Yosemite's 15th fatality in 2011.
Another 17-year-old boy was mauled to death by a hungry polar bear that found its way into the teens' campsite near the North Pole. A group member shot the bear after it attacked the boy and four others.
Last week glacier collapsed in Alaska, giving tourists on a boat more than they bargained for. Ice chunks came flying at them and one woman broke her leg.
It's been a weird summer, don't you think?
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