‘I can’t lose her.’ Volleyball-sized rock critically injures hiker, Utah officials say

Daniella Segura
·2 min read

Jessie Liddiard was hiking and climbing at Hellgate Cliffs in Utah on Friday, Aug. 5, when the unexpected happened.

Witnesses told police that they saw a rock the size of a volleyball fall up to 300 feet and hit the 25-year-old on the head, Sgt. Shane Manwaring of the Unified Police Department told McClatchy News.

Liddiard was wearing a helmet, Manwaring said. Still, the rock crushed the right side of her skull, according to her mother, Tricia Liddiard.

Jessie Liddiard was airlifted to the University of Utah Hospital for neurosurgery, where family was waiting for her to wake as of Aug. 10, according to a GoFundMe set up for her medical expenses.

“I can’t lose her,” her mom wrote on Facebook.

Nathan Liddiard, Jessie’s brother, described her as a selfless person who always thinks of others.

“My sister is the embodiment of love, strength, and courage, and is one of the most disciplined and beautiful humans I’ve ever been privileged to know,” he wrote on Facebook. “I love my sister with all of my being and cannot imagine a life without her.”

During her surgery, doctors removed the right side of Liddiard’s skull, according to her mother’s post.

“They’re worried about her being able to move the left side of her body,” Tricia Liddiard told KSL 5.

The mother described her daughter’s accident as her “worst nightmare,” Fox 13 reported.

“I was always afraid she was going to be injured by falling — I never thought about a falling rock, I guess,” she told the outlet.

Nonetheless, the family has a glimmer of hope — even though Liddiard is not awake, she is “moving a little bit,” her mom told Fox 13 on Aug. 9.

Hellgate Cliffs is about 30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.

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