Heroic zipline worker died after falling 70 feet rescuing a woman who was in trouble, says report

• Joaquin Romero, a zipline worker, sacrificed himself to save a woman who drifted out on a zipline.
• Romero feared their combined weight would cause the entire zip line to fall, so he let go and fell to the ground.

A California man died after falling over 70 feet from a zipline as he sacrificed himself to save a woman in danger, reports say.

The incident took place last Saturday at La Jolla Zip Zoom Zipline on the La Jolla Indian Reservation.

Joaquin Romero, 34, an employee, was helping a woman get hooked into her gear when she started sliding out on the line, an unidentified eyewitness and friend of Romero told KSWB.

He grabbed onto her harness to stop her drifting away, but both were dragged to the middle of the zipline, reported KSWB.

The eyewitness said that Romero feared that their combined weight would cause the entire zip line to fall and decided to let go and sacrifice himself.

The woman he was helping was not hurt, the witness said.

Romero fell about 70 feet to the ground and suffered multiple blunt force injuries, according to the Medical Examiner's Office and Cal Fire Capt. Frank LoCoco, reported by The San Diego Tribune.

He was airlifted to Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, and he passed away from injuries on Monday morning.

A GoFundMe page set up by his brother has now raised over $35,000 to pay for his funeral services, with surplus money to go to his child.

Normal Contreras, tribal chairwoman with the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, said in a statement to KSWB: "We are saddened and heartbroken over the recent tragic accident involving one of our employees."

"The Tribe, Tribal officials, employees, and Tribal members extend our sincere condolences to our employee and his family for their loss.

"Given the circumstances of the accident, the Tribe is conducting an in-depth and comprehensive investigation, in coordination and cooperation with federal and state authorities."