- Angela Lin, a Google software engineer, was killed by a falling tree branch in Yosemite National Park on Saturday, July 19. Lin was 29. Google is well-known for its generous death benefits for employees.
Angela Lin, a 29-year-old software engineer at Google, was suddenly killed by a falling tree branch while hiking with her boyfriend and two friends in Yosemite National Park. SFGate was the first to report the story.
After the four friends heard a large crack from the trees, a bunch of small branches fell to the ground—and one big branch struck Angela.
“It was just unimaginable that something like this could occur,” David Hua, Lin’s boyfriend, told SFGate.
Hua told the outlet he closed his eyes when the branches fell but noticed Lin on the ground, with blood pooled around her head, when he opened his eyes. He said he called 911 and performed CPR until a park ranger, and later police, showed up. Emergency responders said the falling branch killed Lin instantly.
A Google spokesperson provided the following statement to Fortune: “We lost a loved and respected member of our team. We’re very saddened by this tragedy, and our hearts are with their family and loved ones.”
While Google wouldn’t corroborate details about their policies surrounding what happens when an employee dies, in 2012, Forbes reported that in the event of an employee’s death, Google will pay half of an employee’s salary to their spouse for 10 years—a benefit that has no tenure requirement. Every employee is immediately eligible for this benefit regardless of how long they’ve worked at the company.
According to that report, Google also provides stock benefits to the spouse of the deceased employee, and also provides $1,000 per month for any of their children until they turn 19 years old.
Google also confirmed to Business Insider in 2012 that same-sex couples receive the same benefits.
Lin had been working as an engineer in the San Francisco area for the last six years—first at Salesforce, and later at Google. She earned her Master of Science degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
