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Teen Dies After Falling On Yosemite Hiking Trail

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (CBS/AP) - A teenage boy has died of head injuries five days after falling on Yosemite National Park's most popular hiking trail.

The Stanislaus County coroner said 17-year-old Kao Kue of Fresno died at a Modesto hospital Wednesday night.

According to park spokeswoman Kari Cobb, the teen was hiking the Mist Trail when he slipped.

The trail runs alongside Vernal Fall, and signs warn hikers that mist from the fall can make the trail slippery. Three hikers were swept over the falls last month after ignoring barriers to the Merced reiver, witnesses said.

Cobb declined to discuss details of Kue's fall because he was a minor.

In May, a Texas man drowned in the Merced River when he slipped from the Mist Trail.

So far, 14 people have died this year inside Yosemite, a modern-day record. Kue is not included in that count because he died outside of the park.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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