Man dies after hiking in Death Valley heat, driving car off embankment

A second person has died this summer from heat exposure symptoms after hiking at California’s Death Valley National Park, where temperatures have lately soared, park officials said.
Peter Hayes Robino, 57, of Los Angeles County, drove a car off a steep embankment on Aug. 1 after taking a one-mile circular hike at the park. An autopsy later confirmed that Robino died of heat exposure, the National Park Service said Monday.
Robino is the second person to die this summer after visiting Death Valley, a region that has experienced an unprecedented heat wave in recent months as temperatures have reached highs of about 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bystanders saw Robino stumbling as he returned from hiking Death Valley’s Natural Bridge Trail, a shorter, rocky route that park officials recommend avoiding on hot days.
The temperature reached a high of 119 degrees that day. Witnesses offered to help Robino, but he refused with responses that “did not make sense,” according to the park service.
Robino then got into his car to exit the park, but drove off a steep 20-foot embankment at the edge of the parking lot, park officials said. The car rolled over and the airbags deployed in the crash.
Robino was able to exit the vehicle and walk to a shaded area of the parking lot as a bystander called 911. He was still breathing when emergency responders with the park arrived at 4:10 p.m., but died within the hour despite receiving CPR and being moved into an air-conditioned ambulance, park officials said.
An autopsy conducted by the Inyo County Coroner found that Robino died of hyperthermia, symptoms of which include overheating, confusion, irritability and lack of coordination.
Robino’s death comes less than a month after a motorcyclist also died of heat exposure at Death Valley, a park famous for being one of the hottest, driest places in the United States.
The rider, who was with a group of six motorcyclists traveling through the park, was taken to a hospital in Las Vegas to be treated for severe heat illness. Four others were also treated in the national park that day – when temps reached 128 degrees – and were released.
In early July, California was under excessive heat warnings and advisories as temperatures across the state broke the 100 degree mark. Later in the month, another traveler to Death Valley National Park was rescued and hospitalized after suffering third-degree burns on his feet.
Amid the scorching heat, park officials at Death Valley have repeatedly warned visitors about the danger of spending long periods of time outside in such conditions. Park rangers advise those who visit Death Valley National Park in the summer to stay in or near air-conditioning, to not hike after 10 a.m. in low elevations, to drink plenty of water and eat salty snacks.
Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]