Man dies of heat exposure at Death Valley National Park

The man showed signs of heat exhaustion after a one-mile walk, drove his car over a cliff.

A second person has died in Death Valley National Park due to heat. A Los Angeles County man visiting the park died of heat exposure on Aug. 1 at the Natural Bridge Trailhead, the National Park Service said in a news release.

Temperatures measured 119 degrees Fahrenheit at the Furnace Creek weather station that afternoon when, after a 1-mile walk, bystanders said 57-year-old Peter Hayes Robino stumbled and had trouble speaking, but he said he was okay.

Robino got in a car but drove off a 20-foot embankment on the edge of the parking lot. Bystanders walked him back up to a shaded area in the parking lot, but Robino stopped breathing shortly thereafter. NPS emergency responders arrived on the scene and declared the man dead.

An autopsy by the Inyo County Coroner found he died from hyperthermia.

"My condolences go out to Mr. Robino’s family and friends," Mike Reynolds, an EMT who responded to the call, said. "His death serves as a reminder not to underestimate the dangers of extreme heat," Reynolds added.

In July, a motorcyclist died from heat exposure in the park while a man suffered third-degree burns on his feet as temperatures soared above 120 degrees.

Death Valley reached 129 degrees on July 7, 2024, and afternoon highs were above 120 for 24 days in the month. July was the hottest month on record in the park, with reliable records going back to 1940.

Officially, the park is the location of the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, 134 degrees in 1913, but some scientists refute this record.