California news producer Kathryn Hoedt dead after falling 30 feet from rope swing in freak accident

A California journalist and New York University graduate who “lit up the newsroom” was killed during a freak rope-swinging accident on Aug. 12, according to her job’s station KCRA.

Kathryn Hoedt, 23, died after witnesses say she fell 30 feet from the rope swing onto rocks along the shoreline at Folsom Lake, just 24 miles outside of Sacramento.

Friends who were with Hoedt helped carry her to a nearby boat ramp where park officials were located at the time.

An off-duty doctor performed CPR before an ambulance arrived to transport Hoedt to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

“I can’t believe it’s real, you know, she was such a bright light,” her mother Beth told KCRA. “Today, I tried to get some work done, and it was really, really hard because I knew Katie’s never going to be calling me again, and it’s going to be just something that I’m never going to get used to.”

Hoedt, also known as Katie, graduated from San Jose State University in 2021 before she earned her Master’s degree from New York University in 2022.

The Sacramento native stayed close to home and joined KCRA 3 in Oct. 2022, where she produced the station’s morning show.

“Our team is heartbroken about the loss of Katie Hoedt,” KCRA 3 News Director Derek Schnell said. “She had a vibrant personality, she lit up the newsroom with her enthusiasm and her laughter was contagious.

“She was also proud to be a journalist and she was deeply committed to serving our community. Katie had a bright future ahead of her and she’ll be deeply missed.”

The KCRA 3 news station wrote on its website: “Her coworkers universally said she was one of the nicest people they ever worked with.”

Rope swings are not allowed at the lake site, according to local authorities.

“This is something we don’t allow here at state parks, and we do make an effort to cut down the rope swings that we see because of situations like this,” said Mike Howard, superintendent for the agency’s Folsom sector.

A California park official also advised against using rope swings in the area.

“You don’t know who put the rope swing up. You don’t know how strong that is. You don’t know the tree, the branch. Anything can give out and it’s extremely dangerous,” Barry Smith, chief ranger of the Gold Fields District of California State Parks, told KCRA.

Folsom Lake’s changing water levels have been made known to residents over the years, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Howard noted the lake has fallen 15 feet since May — which exposes more shoreline and increases the distance one can fall from a rope swing.