The area where a hiker was found fatally injured, near San Geronimo, Calif. (Google Maps image)
The “suspicious” death of a hiker in Marin County last week may have been caused by a kick from a horse, the sheriff’s office said on Monday.
At 6:51 p.m. on Friday, an emergency call reported a man suffering from an apparent fall and head wound on a fire road near Wild Iris Drive and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in San Geronimo.
The man, later identified as Richard Helzberg, 82, was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries, the sheriff’s office said.
Initially, the medical staff at Marin Health Medical Center reported that Helzberg appeared to have a ballistic wound to his head. The sheriff’s office now says that observation “does not appear to be valid.”
“At the conclusion of the autopsy, it was determined, based on all available evidence, the injuries sustained were caused by a blunt force strike,” said the sheriff’s report. “Sheriff’s Investigations Division (is) now investigating the possibility that the subject was kicked by a horse.”
“No evidence of this injury being caused by a firearm was found,” the report said.
Authorities said that a horse was seen along the fire road when emergency responders were tending to Helzberg.
Helzberg’s death is still being investigated and a complete coroner’s report is pending, said the sheriff’s office.
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Originally published at Bay City News