Authorities release name of Coronado man who died on backcountry trail

Authorities released the name of a 27-year-old man who collapsed and died while hiking with friends on a trail between Julian and Ramona amid unseasonable heat.

Robert De La Cruz of Coronado was stricken shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday on the trail north of Tule Springs Road and west of State Route 78, according to Cal Fire and the county Medical Examiner’s Office.

“Medics were flown in, and when they got there bystanders were performing CPR,” said Mike Mohler, a fire captain with the state agency. “He was pronounced dead at the scene.”

A ruling on the cause of De La Cruz’s death is on hold pending completion of postmortem exams.