A 6-year-old San Jose girl died after being struck and pinned down by a log at a beach in Santa Cruz County on Thursday.
The girl was playing on a 12-foot log near the water at the 26th Avenue beach in Live Oak when large waves hit the log and knocked her off, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff's investigators.
Then the log rolled over and pinned the girl underneath it.
Her family and other people on the beach were able to pull the heavy log off of her, but she was unconscious.
The girl was taken to Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, then flown to Stanford Hospital by helicopter.
The girl later died from her injuries. Her name was not immediately released.
Investigators said the huge piece of driftwood was water-logged, making it very heavy.
Cheyenne Sun Hill, a Santa Cruz local, said the waves can be very dangerous and powerful after a storm.
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"God, it breaks my heart to hear that, you know," Sun Hill said. "And that is just terrifying for a 6-year-old to be that close to the tideline."
Bay City News contributed to this report.
