Hiker falls 500 feet to his death from ridge at Sequoia National Park, woman falls trying to save him

A hiker died after falling about 500 feet from a mountain ridge in California's Sequoia National Park on Memorial Day and a woman who tried to pull him to safety was injured after falling about 30 feet, park officials said Tuesday.

The 56-year-old man lost his balance and one of his hiking companions, a 45-year-old woman, grabbed him and both fell off the summit ridge of Mount Russell, but the woman was able to stop her fall on a ledge 30 feet below and survived, the National Park Service said in a news release. A third member of the hiking party used a satellite emergency beacon to declare an emergency, and then called 911 from his cell phone.