Massachusetts
Woman dies after falling from cliff while hiking at Massachusetts state park
A Massachusetts woman died while hiking with three of her children after she fell down a cliff on April 23, police said.
According to a press release from the Sutton Police Department, the incident happened at the Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton, Massachusetts, some 40 miles southwest of Boston.
Police said they were called to the area after receiving reports of a woman who fell down a cliff around 50 to 75 feet high.
“There were multiple medical professionals in the area hiking the Chasm at the same time, and were able to provide medical attention right away. However, she had succumbed to the injuries sustained during the fall, and was pronounced deceased a short time later,” police said.
According to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, part of the USA TODAY Network, the woman was identified by authorities as 49-year-old Carolyn Sanger.
In the press release, police said they believe the fall to be accidental but have an active investigation into Sanger’s death.
“Lastly, the Sutton Police Department would like to extend our condolences to the family during this very difficult time,” police said.
Who was Carolyn Sanger?
Sanger, a mother of four, lived in Topsfield, Massachusetts, around 20 miles north of Boston.
According to NBC 10 Boston, she was the owner of a massage, yoga and Reiki studio. Members of the community who knew Sanger remembered her as a positive influence in the area.
“She could show up in a room, light up a room and give you a hug and you felt that warmth, she was a safe place, you could talk to her about anything,” Jamie Belsito told the NBC 10 Boston.
Sanger was also a regular at Zumi’s Espresso, which was right next to her wellness center. Umesh Bhiji, the coffee shop’s owner, said Sanger was a wonderful person.
“She was wonderful, very kind-hearted, at Zumi’s all the time with her kids, friends, for hours of talk,” Bhiji told NBC 10 Boston.
In a GoFundMe set up following Sanger’s death, she was remembered as a caring, wonderful mother.
“She was a friend to all and her smile and kind spirit will be greatly missed. She passed too early- but she left the earth doing what she loved, with the ones she loved,” the fundraiser’s description reads.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
We’re still on the good side of the forecast today. We’ll see a good supply of sun to start, then the clouds will increase and a few showers will sink down from the north in the afternoon. We still manage to make it near 70. (Yay.)
Tomorrow’s high temperatures, however, comes after midnight tonight — before falling toward Saturday morning. If you think that’s confusing, try explaining the snow that’ll be flying in the higher elevations across New England (with solid accumulation above 4k feet).
Yes, the weather is upside down for late May.
We can blame an intense, compact upper-level pool of cold air that broke loose from a larger pool near the Arctic Circle days ago.
The pattern across North America has dropped it in our laps for a day, with cold, rainy, windy consequences.
Rain, wind and… snow?
This will be a sneaky storm. Early on, there might even be a calm, bright sky (very) early Saturday morning. Then the clouds move in and the wind intensifies from the northeast. Gust will briefly peak at 50+ along the coast (40+ inland).
Rain will mix with snow in northern New England, and perhaps in the highest elevations of southern New Hampshire and central Massachusetts.
This also depends on the intensity of the precipitation. Heavier bursts of rain can drag down colder air aloft, helping the snowflakes make it from cloud base to your home place (if you live above 1k feet).
Ironically, we’re not expecting a deluge from this storm. Most spots keep near a half inch, with higher amounts near an inch in northeast Mass./southern NH.
And then just like that, it’s over. The storm pulls away Saturday evening, the skies clear and we’re back to sun Sunday. Highs recover to near 70 with the slightest chance for a shower late day.
Better chances – and cooler temps – come both Monday and Tuesday.
Will summer ever take hold? We know from past years that June can really struggle. It appears that the start of the month may not live up to expectations. Although we are at least climbing back to the 80s late next week.
Have a good weekend.
The head of the Massachusetts State Police can’t be sued for an alleged program that secretly recorded officers’ phone conversations with civilians and used them to bring criminal charges, the First Circuit said Thursday.
A group of Massachusetts residents filed a putative class against against Superintendent Geoffrey Noble, as well as Motorola and other companies, over the secret recordings, which were used to propose criminal charges in at least 181 cases without prosecutors’ knowledge, the three judge panel said.
The opinion by Circuit Judge Seth Aframe said the residents, led by Jason Courtemanche, failed to show how they’d be directly …
Massachusetts families are spending 8% of their monthly income on health care, according to a new study. That puts the Bay State toward the higher end of the scale, coming in at No. 12 in the country.
The analysis from personal finance website WalletHub examined where people are spending the most and the least on health care.
Alaska was No. 1 in the U.S., spending over 10% of their income on health care. On the other end of the scale, Utah residents spend 5% of their income on health care.
“Sharp increases in health care costs in recent years have made it difficult for some people to seek essential care,” WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. “Even in states with lower-than-average health care prices, residents’ incomes may not be enough to keep up with the cost, especially since virtually every part of Americans’ budgets have been impacted by inflation over the past few years.”
To determine how much families are spending, WalletHub analyzed the prices of five key health care components across all 50 states, then combined those costs and compared them with each state’s median household income.
Read more: 1 MA Town Among 250 Best Places To Live In US News Ranking
Massachusetts spends the most on health care compared to other states in the region, according to the study. Vermont is the next-highest state in the Northeast, ranking at No. 14 with residents spending 7.98% of their income on health care.
Here are the top 10 states where people are spending the most on health care:
- Alaska
- Oregon
- Maine
- Mississippi
- West Virginia
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Montana
- South Dakota
- Louisiana
Check out the full study at WalletHub.
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