High school senior falls to his death before graduation

WHITTIER, Calif. -- A teenage hiker died after falling from a cliff in Southern California Tuesday night, hours before his high school graduation, CBS Los Angeles reports.

Authorities responded to a popular hiking area in Angeles National Forest just before 8 p.m.

Jeremy St. Julian, 18, of Whittier, was hiking with friends when he slipped and fell about 100 feet down a cliff in the Chantry Flat Recreation Area north of Sierra Madre.

The popular football player and student was pronounced dead at the scene.

Megan Broussard said she was hiking nearby with two friends when they heard a "loud bang" followed by yells for help.

"I tried going down there, but it was too steep," she said.

A fire department rescue helicopter was called in to help with the recovery effort.

On Wednesday evening, hundreds of St. Julian's classmates at La Serna High School gathered for their graduation.

Many had No. 54 on their minds and in their hearts.

"He talked to everybody," said friend Caleb Dockter. "He was a very funny guy, great at football. He was really known. Everyone loved him."

He was in shock that his friend was gone.

"My stomach's been turning all day thinking about it at work," he said.

This is not the first time tragedy struck this class in this manner.

"It's like a cliff-jumping spot, so a lot of people do continue to go there and stuff like that. Another friend of mine, one of his best friends actually, died there too. A few years back, he was hiking, and I guess he tried to just leap to another rock, slipped," Dockter said.

Friends held a moment of silence for St. Julian and then released balloons. They also held a seat open for him at the ceremony with his football jersey draped over the seat.