Marguerite Root, 85, was sitting on a parking lot guardrail Monday, Sept. 12, taking pictures with her family with the mountain views in the background when she fell backward off the rock wall to the stone walkway below. Root, who was visiting from Ohio, fell 8 to 9 feet and lost consciousness. 

National Park Service rangers and Cherokee Tribal EMS responded to the scene, transporting Root to the Cherokee Indian Hospital in Cherokee. She never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at the hospital.