Accidental Deaths California

In the adrenaline-stoked realm of vertical rock climbing, Derek Geoffrey Hersey was regarded as one of the world's best, a daredevil among daredevils who did not use a rope. But for reasons that authorities said Sunday may never be known, the 36-year-old Hersey plunged to his death from the granite face of Yosemite National Park's Sentinel Rock. A native of Manchester, England, Hersey for the past decade had lived in Boulder, Colo.

John Denver flew to his death with an invalid license because he had twice been arrested on drunk driving charges, a federal aviation official told the Associated Press on Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration pulled Denver's medical certificate--which is required to fly with a pilot's license--on June 13, 1996, said National Transportation Safety Board spokesman George Petterson.

John Denver flew to his death with an invalid license because he had twice been arrested on drunk driving charges, a federal aviation official told the Associated Press on Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration pulled Denver's medical certificate--which is required to fly with a pilot's license--on June 13, 1996, said National Transportation Safety Board spokesman George Petterson.

Mary Glass had an idyllic life: a happy marriage, four children, a senior position with a mortgage company and a beautiful Mission Viejo home with a pool and spa in the backyard. But it changed on one Sunday afternoon in April 1991. Glass was upstairs putting away laundry while her 20-month-old son, Crissy, tagged along. Downstairs and in back, friends and relatives were preparing for a barbecue.

Mary Glass had an idyllic life: a happy marriage, four children, a senior position with a mortgage company and a beautiful Mission Viejo home with a pool and spa in the backyard. But it changed on one Sunday afternoon in April 1991. Glass was upstairs putting away laundry while her 20-month-old son, Crissy, tagged along. Downstairs and in back, friends and relatives were preparing for a barbecue.

Orange County is second only to Los Angeles County in the number of swimming pool drownings statewide involving children 1 to 4 years old, according to a study released Wednesday by a consumer advocacy group. The California Public Interest Research Group found that 14 Orange County toddlers died and 32 were injured in pool accidents in 1993, the most recent year for which figures are available.

In the adrenaline-stoked realm of vertical rock climbing, Derek Geoffrey Hersey was regarded as one of the world's best, a daredevil among daredevils who did not use a rope. But for reasons that authorities said Sunday may never be known, the 36-year-old Hersey plunged to his death from the granite face of Yosemite National Park's Sentinel Rock. A native of Manchester, England, Hersey for the past decade had lived in Boulder, Colo.