Photo: @HoedtKatie/Twitter
A television news producer died after falling 30 feet from a rope swing onto rocks by the water at a California lake.
Katie Hoedt, 23, was pronounced dead at Folsom Lake at around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday (August 12), her employer, KCRA, confirmed in an article published on Tuesday (August 15).
“I can’t believe it’s real, you know, she was such a bright light,” her mother, Beth Hoedt said via KCRA. “Today, I tried to get some work done, and it was really, really hard because I knew Katie’s never going to be calling me again, and it’s going to be just something that I’m never going to get used to.”
Hoedt was taken by friends to the Rattlesnake Bar boat ramp after the fall, at which point an off-duty doctor performed CPR before park rangers assisted her. The 23-year-old was transported to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead.
Barry Smith, the chief ranger of the Gold Fields District of California State Parks, said rope swings aren't placed by officials and are prohibited from all state parks.
“There’s a lot of danger out here that people need to be aware of, and unfortunately, we’re standing here today talking about Kathryn. And we wish we weren’t,” Smith said via KCRA. “These are tragic events, and we don’t take these lightly.”
Hoedt grew up in the Sacramento area and got her undergraduate degree at San Jose State before completing her master's degree from NYU at the age of 21.
“She’s just made such a massive impact and only at 23. I just wish she could have been here for another 60, 70 years. I can’t image what she could have done,” her father, Andy Hoedt, said via KCRA. “It’s just devastating to me.”