FRIENDS TRAVELING WITH 20-YEAR-OLD RYAN BRODERICK OF EL SEGUNDO REACT IN HORROR AFTER HE FELL TO HIS DEATH FROM A CULVERT ALONG HIGHWAY 140. THE GROUP HAD STOPPED ALONG THE ROAD TO VIEW SCENERY ON THE WAY TO YOSEMITE. GAZETTE PHOTO BY DAN TUCKER A 20- year-old El Segundo man fell to his death after slipping in a culvert near Highway 140 on April 30. Ryan Broderick was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office received the 911 call around 9:15 a.m. When the deputy arrived on scene, he could see Broderick’s body about 50 feet beneath the culvert in a rocky area. Broderick was not moving and displayed no signs of life. He appeared to have sustained head and facial injuries.

The witnesses, who were traveling with Broderick to Yosemite for the day, said they all live and work together in North Fork. The stopped along Highway 140 near the culvert to look at the scenery. The entire group went into the culvert and walked toward the end to look out.

Two of the people in the group walked toward the end and looked out toward the river canyon. Broderick and two others walked behind them. There was a small amount of water running through the large culvert.

Broderick reportedly ran past the first two playfully. He got to the end, where a concrete slab extends above the rocky area below. As Broderick ran toward the end, he was unable to straddle the water as it widened on the slab. He lost his footing and fell. His momentum carried him over the edge.