Bicyclist hit and killed by falling tree branch near Gilroy

SANTA CLARA COUNTY – A bicyclist died after a large tree branch fell and hit her Tuesday northeast of Gilroy, authorities said.

Officers were dispatched to the area of Roop and Leavesley roads at 1:23 p.m. for a report of a tree that had fallen onto a bicyclist, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release.

An investigation determined that the bicyclist, a 65-year-old Gilroy woman, had been riding southbound on Roop north of Leavesley when a large tree branch fell and hit her, the CHP said. She was then knocked to the ground and pinned under the branch.

The bicyclist was taken to Regional Medical Center in San Jose, where she died of her injuries, the CHP said. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office will release the woman’s identity once it is confirmed and her next of kin is notified.

The CHP said it was not clear what time the incident occurred or what caused the branch to break.

Roop Road runs along the southern border of Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County Park and is flanked by trees.

Anyone with information related to the case can call the Hollister-Gilroy CHP area office at 408-427-0700.