Yosemite park visitor unwittingly takes final photo of swimmer before he plunged off 600ft waterfall

A heroic woman nearly died moments after she snapped the final photo of a young man who fell to his death off a 600ft waterfall in Yosemite National Park on Saturday afternoon.Freesia Gaul, 20, ate lunch with her friends at the top of Nevada Falls before she decided to take a picture to capture the “beautiful day,” she told The Daily Mail.As she peered through her camera lens, she noticed a man, identified as 22-year-old Josue Baires Alfaro, in the water.The haunting final photo shows a baseball-cap-wearing Alfaro keeping his head above the water as he paddled against the current.Several onlookers watched Alfaro as he struggled in the water, but Gaul recognized the life-threatening danger of the situation.She knew he was stuck in a “strong undercurrent” and raced to save him fully clothed, utilizing her experience as a volunteer lifeguard.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story Gaul knew the risk, but couldn’t stand to let the man go over.“The number one rule in lifesaving is don’t create a second victim,” she told SFGATE.“But when you see someone like that, when you make direct eye contact with someone who you know is going to go over, you can’t turn around.”In a matter of seconds, Gaul tried to swim to the man, but quickly realized the current’s strength.“Once you get swept in, you can’t stand up,” Gaul said.

“You’re fighting a mountain, and you’re just one swimmer.”Her body kept hitting rocks, and she began to lose control as well.Gaul was seconds away from joining him in his fate.

“I basically thought the chances are zero,” she recalled.“I’m not making it out of here.” But a bystander reached out a stick to her at the last second, and she grabbed on.She held eye contact with a terrified Alfaro, w...