Another Hiker Seriously Injured After Plunging Down Waterfalls In IE

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CA — Another visitor plummeted from waterfalls in the San Bernardino National Forest this week.

The woman fell Thursday afternoon from above the middle waterfall at Big Falls in Forest Falls, according to Cal Fire/San Bernardino County Fire Department.

A helicopter crew had to hoist the seriously injured woman from the area and send her to a local trauma center, according to the fire agency.

An update on the woman's condition was not immediately available.

Her fall was not the first this week. At 4:45 p.m. Sunday, Richard Deharo, 43, of Riverside was pronounced dead at Big Falls after he tumbled down the falls with a hiking companion.

Deharo fell about 20 feet alongside a 43-year-old Riverside woman, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

A sheriff's helicopter crew spotted the pair in the lower falls area as the woman was performing CPR on Deharo, the sheriff's department reported.

Cal Fire/San Bernardino County Fire Department crews made their way to the area but Deharo was dead when they arrived.

The woman was hoisted up to the helicopter and flown to an awaiting ground ambulance. She was sent to Loma Linda University Medical Center for treatment of her injuries, according to the sheriff's department. An update on her medical condition was unavailable.

Deharo's body was retrieved and sent to the San Bernardino County coroner's office.

The fatality is at least the second this year in the Forest Falls area. The body of Robert Carey Jr., 33, of Calimesa was discovered at the base of the Big Falls waterfall in May. Read more: Body Of Missing Calimesa Hiker Found At Base Of Waterfall

Big Falls — one of Southern California's tallest waterfalls — is a popular hiking destination in the San Bernardino National Forest. However, hikers are advised not to hike or climb past the overlook due to dangerous terrain that is loose, slippery and steep.

Editor's note: The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department originally reported that Deharo was a Hemet resident.