By Tragedy struck Taylor Kahle, 29, earlier this week. She was seen walking with a man in San Diego’s East Village when a man fell from an above-ground parking structure. The authorities quickly arrived on the scene but Kahle died from her injuries. The man who fell has yet to be identified. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died. It’s a devastating story that sounds too bizarre to be real.
A Seemingly Random Act
According to her friend and co-worker Laurel McFarlane, Kahle was out on a date last Sunday night. She had just finished dinner at Basic Bar and Pizza in the downtown area with a man she was still getting to know.
“She had just met someone that she kind of liked – it was new, just starting out – and she was just excited that there was someone she was having a connection with,” McFarlane said.
Just after 7:30 PM local time, security footage shows them leaving the restaurant and walking down the street. A few minutes later, they passed by a parking structure when a suicidal man jumped down and landed on Kahle, according to the police.
Another couple was walking behind them. The footage shows them reacting to the fall. They stood frozen for a few seconds, still in shock, before running over to help.
McFarlane calls the entire incident “unbelievable.” One moment Kahle was there and the next she was gone. “That’s what makes you feel like she’s still going to walk through the door,” she told NBC 7. “I just want to hug her and tell her, ‘It’s going to be OK and we’re going to fix you up and you’ll be fine.’”
Both the man and Kahle died from their injuries, but her date was unharmed.
It’s not clear if the man who fell saw Kahle and her friend before jumping to his death.
Paying Tribute to a Life Lost Too Soon
Kahle is remembered as a loving, hard-working person with a “fierce loyalty” to her friends and loved ones. “She was a young, vibrant girl who had her whole life ahead of her,” MacFarlane told a local news network.
She worked with Kahle at MacFarlane Promotions in downtown San Diego for almost nine years. They were getting ready for the city’s upcoming restaurant week when the tragedy occurred.
MacFarlane, who says Kahle was like a daughter to her, added a moving tribute to her late friend, writing, “Somehow I knew God gave me this incredible person to mentor, grow, and encourage to become a beautiful fully blossomed strong person. I was honored to pass on the lessons that I learned so that she would not have to wait until she was into her 40’s to find herself as I had.”
“I watched as she grew and made changes in her life; the type of changes that I wish I had dared to do when I was her age. She lived life with zest and always pushed herself beyond her comfort zone to lead the best life she could. Not only did she gain incredible strength over the past eight years, she surpassed her mentor. I would sit in awe of her incredible bravery and fearless choices. She was only in her 20’s, but I was so excited to see what she would accomplish over the next decade of her life,” MacFarlane continued.
Kahle was also an avid animal lover with two pets, including a chihuahua named Stella and a rescue pup named Rue. She would’ve turned 30 this weekend. Just this beautiful person, who had this incredible life ahead of them, is gone – in such a tragic way,” McFarlane said. “She had so much more to give.”
