A Hopkinton native who died last month while hiking in Colorado was killed when a rock came loose and hit her in the head, officials said.
Hannah Taylor 39, was training for an ultra-endurance race on July 21 on an off-trail ridge in the Gore Mountain Range in Summit County, Colo. On one section of ridge, she held onto the rocks while assessing the best way forward. An unsteady rock broke loose, striking Taylor and knocking her down the ridge, the Summit County Coroner’s Office wrote in a statement released Thursday.
The information came from Olof Hedberg, who was hiking with Taylor when the accident happened, and was released at the request of Taylor’s family.
“As she stood on the ridge, a large section of rock, including the piece in her hand, broke loose causing her to stumble,” the coroner’s office said. “The falling rock then directly hit the back of her head and killed her. Her body fell 66 feet down a gully and then over a 200 foot cliff.”
Taylor’s partner, Hedberg, called 911 and climbed down to confirm she did not survive the fall, the coroner’s office said. Hedberg waited for a helicopter to recover Taylor’s body, and self-evacuated by foot.
Hedberg is the head coach at Summit Nordic Ski Club, where Taylor also worked as a coach known for her talent applying the correct ski wax for almost any condition.
Raised in Hopkinton, Taylor had lived in Summit County about 15 years. Her family said she was a compassionate, goofy, brilliant person who was more than just an athlete.
She leaves behind her mother, Dorothy “Dijit” Taylor of Hopkinton, and sisters Bethany Taylor of Portland, Maine and Emily Taylor and Emily’s husband, Alex Ziko, of Jackson. Hannah’s father, Jeffery Taylor, of Hopkinton, passed away in 2015.