Joshua Burwell was not watching where he walked when he fell 60 feet to his death at San Diego's Sunset Cliffs on Christmas Day, according to reports.
An Indiana father was killed when he fell off a California cliff because he was reportedly distracted by taking pictures of the scenic bluff, officials said.
Joshua Burwell was not watching where he walked when he fell 60 feet to his death at San Diego’s Sunset Cliffs on Christmas Day, NBC San Diego reported.
Witnesses said Burwell, 33, was “distracted by an electronic device” in his hands when he plummeted off Sunset Cliffs Boulevard about 4:50 p.m. Friday, officials told the television station.
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Those who saw Burwell fall rushed to help him and were joined by emergency responders who worked to save the Sheridan man, but he died at the scene.
“Help, please God, save me,” witness Thor Wilink, 13, told NBC San Diego he heard the man cry out.
Lifeguards have not yet found a device Burwell was believed to be using when he fell. They said he may have been using a camera or a phone.
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"Just like driving and using a cell phone, you don't want to be walking and using a cell phone or be distracted or anything," San Diego Lifeguard Bill Bender told the television station.
Burwell reportedly leaves behind one son.
“You will always be loved by your family and friends. You will forever hold a special place in my heart. Loving son, loving brother, loving father. Gone way to(sic) soon, now sitting at the side of God. We have always loved you,” a family member wrote on Facebook.
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