A senior tourist from Illinois tragically lost his life in a fall while hiking in a New York state park, state officials report. He slipped from a rock ledge and landed on the stone steps below.
Seventy-year-old Jack Wersching, a married father, was traversing a path near a waterfall at the Kaaterskill Wild Forest located in the Catskills on Friday evening when he accidentally fell onto the trail beneath him, according to the New York State Police’s statement on Tuesday.
Park rangers quickly responded to the incident and managed to remove Wersching from the trailhead at approximately 6:45 p.m., stated the state Department of Environmental Conservation in a press release.
The rangers then tried to stabilize the Illinois native so first responders could airlift him to a hospital, but he died from his “severe injuries” at the scene, officials said.
Wersching, who lived in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, was remembered as someone who lived “fully, passionately, and on his own terms.”
“He embraced each day with an Epicurean spirit – always chasing adventure, seeking knowledge, and finding joy in the little things,” his daughter said in a heartfelt Facebook post.
“His final days were spent doing what he loved most: exploring, learning, and being in awe of the world.”
A witness who helped Wersching said he heard screams for help and saw the victim lying on the ground with serious injuries.
Shilo Shalom said he tried to help him, and used shirts to slow the bleeding.
Shalom, an Israeli native, initially ran into Wersching, his wife and daughter earlier in the day while he was hiking with his little sister. The two groups even took photos of each other before Wersching’s fall.
“I just tried to save him and I couldn’t,” he said in an interview.
State police said the investigation is ongoing.
