OC Resident steps over guardrail in fatal 75 foot fall

Iris McGee and Jennifer Lee Hashimoto, both 35, were best friends since kindergarten in Cerritos. They had spent the day moving Hashimoto's belongings from McGee's Rancho Santa Margarita house to an Irvine apartment.

They took a break for dinner and were driving to meet friends at BJ's Resataurant & Brewery in Laguna Hills when they crossed the Santa Margarita Parkway bridge over Trabuco Creek, and noticed pillows and a bag near the center guardrail - items that had fallen from the truck they had used.

"Those are some of my expensive Crate & Barrel pillows," Hashimoto told McGee.

So they turned around and parked on the bridge. They decided that it would be safest to walk in what they thought was the median and lean over the guardrail to retrieve the items, McGee said. Iris McGee suggested they get a flashlight.

Instead, Hashimoto jumped over a concrete guardrail onto what they thought was a walkway. McGee watched in horror as her best friend disappeared into a dark void.

"I saw her go over the edge...and I didn't hear anything for a while," McGee said. "And then finally I heard when she hit the ground."

"It was just pitch black, so you would have no idea whether it was 2 feet deep, or 3 feet," said McGee. "Neither of us had the wildest concept in our mind that there would be nothing there."

Moments after Hashimoto fell, McGee started screaming her name and dialed 911.

Hashimoto had a B.S. degree from UC Irvine, and worked as a project engineer for a local technology company. Her family includes her father, younger sister, and young niece.

--------------------------------------------- "Neither of us had the wildest concept in our mind that there would be nothing there."

Obviously, after the fact, there are several ways to interpret that quotation. All of them would be correct. They only had one brain between them, and there was, indeed, nothing there. The bridge in question is actually TWO bridges, one northbound, and one southbound, with a 20-foot gap between them for most of it's length. Proof of the old adage to "Look before you leap", especially on a bridge over a 75-foot chasm in pitch darkness. Duh!

This lady was single, unmarried, with no kids, and now qualifies as being completely out of the gene pool. She clearly deserves the Darwin Award.

Diagnosis: Failure To Fly.

Last Thing That Went Through Her Mind: bushes.

Submitted on 11/11/2005

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: Orange County Register, 11/8

Copyright © 2005 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
Even MORE detail on this breaking story, and the best write-up yet (your comments at the bottom are most appreciated). The victim had a college degree AND worked as a project engineer in the tech field. Now I am convinced that she displayed Darwinian stupidity in a) not using a flashlight, and b) thinking there was a median where there is only 75 feet of nice, fatal drop. I am passing this on to Darwin...thanks!!

Sheryl said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
I agree. The first submission mentioned the items as clothing, now it appears they're pillows. Thanks for the submission of the story. It's the best write-up we've had of it so far. Sometimes I think it's better to wait a day or two after a story breaks in the news to enable us to get the most information.

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