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Friends and family honor fallen Calif. hiker as hero

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. -- After an Orange County man died trying to save a friend during a hike on Mount Baldy earlier this week, friends and family are honoring him as a hero for his last deed, CBS Los Angeles reports.

According to a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Daniel Nguyen of Garden Grove was walking along Devil's Backbone Trail about 7 a.m. Tuesday when his friend lost his footing. Nguyen, 23, tried to pull his friend to safety but slipped and plunged 1,500 feet off a mountainside.

The victim's mother, Lan Nguyen, was beside herself with grief. She called him "my love, my hope, everything for my life."

But she and her husband, Tho, were comforted by the fact that they were told their only son had fallen to his death after reaching out his hand to save a friend, the station reported.

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Daniel Nguyen's mother Lan praises her son. CBS Los Angeles

"I hurt so bad," his father told the station. But, he said, he was looking on the "bright side."

"He sacrificed his own life, so he can save somebody else life," his father said.

Friends on Facebook are also calling Daniel Nguyen a hero for putting another hiker's life above his own.

The Cal State Long Beach alumnus loved the outdoors. He hiked trails all over the country and rode his bike from Garden Grove to Long Beach daily, according to his parents.

The Nguyen family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for their son's funeral.

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