A Weber County woman died Friday afternoon after suffering an allergic reaction to a bee sting.
Weber County Sheriff Chief Deputy Paul Newey said Wilaine O'Harrow, 49, Liberty, was hiking with friends in the Hidden Valley area a mile east of 21st Street in Ogden when she was stung shortly before 4 p.m. on Friday. The woman collapsed immediately following the sting, and resuscitation efforts were started. O'Harrow was pronounced dead about 4 p.m.An autopsy conducted over the weekend showed O'Harrow died of anaphylactic shock that caused a swelling in her airway, leading to respiratory arrest and eventually full cardiac arrest.
Those hiking with O'Harrow were apparently aware of her asthmatic condition, but neither they nor she apparently knew that she was allergic to bee stings.
O'Harrow is the first bee-sting death in Utah since 1984 when two other Ogden-area residents died from stings. Since 1900, 12 deaths from bee stings have been reported in the state.