A passerby notified authorities that a 57-year-old man had been in a vehicle accident in Death Valley National Park on August 1 and had died from heatstroke, the National Park Service (NPS) said in a statement on Monday.
Bystanders said Peter Hayes Lovino was still breathing “just before park rangers arrived.” National Park Service saidLovino was pronounced dead after paramedics transported him to an “air-conditioned ambulance”.
According to the press release, a passerby first saw Lovino staggering back from a one-mile hike and offered to help. Lovino declined the offer, but made statements the passerby said were incomprehensible. Lovino then got into his vehicle and rolled it down a “20-foot drop at the edge of the parking lot.” One passerby called 911, while others helped Lovino back into the shade of the parking lot. (Related article: College student dies after falling hundreds of feet in Grand Canyon National Park)
A man died of heatstroke after his car plunged down a steep slope in Death Valley National Park, California, according to the National Park Service. https://t.co/eVEUmkLS10
— ABC News (@ABC) August 13, 2024
An autopsy revealed Lovino's cause of death was hyperthermia, which can cause confusion and loss of coordination. Park officials said outdoor temperatures that day reached 119 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Our condolences go out to Mr. Lovino's family and friends,” Superintendent Mike Reynolds, the emergency medical technician who responded to the incident, said in a press release. “His death serves as a lesson in never underestimating the dangers of extreme heat.”
Such tragic incidents are not uncommon in Death Valley. On July 6, a man riding a motorbike in Death Valley National Park died, apparently from heat exhaustion. Four other people were also hospitalized after suffering from “heatstroke” in the same incident. On July 3, 2023, a park ranger found a 65-year-old man in his car and confirmed he had died of heatstroke.
Three bodies were recovered from Grand Canyon National Park in the same week in August 2024 alone, bringing the total number of deaths at the park to 11 so far this year.
