Man Days Away From New Career Dies in Grand Canyon Fall

Andrey Privin, a 24-year-old Chicago-area man, was supposed to start his new job Monday as a nurse at a hospital in Highland Park, Ill. Instead, he was being mourned by friends and family following his death in a fall at the Grand Canyon National Park, the Chicago Tribune reports. Park rangers disclosed Monday that Privin died last Tuesday after falling 500 feet, apparently after climbing over a guardrail near a viewpoint. Officials have not confirmed reports that Privin, who had recently finished college, was seen throwing his backpack to an intended landing spot before trying to jump over a gap, the Arizona Republic reports. In a GoFundMe fundraiser set up to help his family with funeral expenses, a family friend describes Privin as a "bright, radiant boy" who died in an "absurd, catastrophic accident." (Read more Grand Canyon stories.)