Now We Know How ‘Lucy’ Died 3 Million Years Ago. Maybe.
Scientists say the iconic human ancestor fell out of a tree.
In cracking what must be one of the coldest cases of all time, scientists at the University of Texas claim to have figured out what killed “Lucy,” the iconic human ancestral specimen who lived and died more than 3 million years ago.
In a paper published Monday in the journal Nature, the researchers argue that the pattern of fractures seen in Lucy’s 3.2-million-year-old fossilized bones show that she died as the result of a “vertical deceleration event.”
In other words, a severe fall from a considerable height.
Scientists have long debated whether Lucy, a small bipedal creature who belonged to an extinct species known as Australopithecus afarensis, spent time in trees (arborealism) as well as on the ground ― a point referenced by the paper’s lead author in a written statement ...
The researchers concluded that these and other fractures in her skeleton show that Lucy, who is believed to have stood about 3 feet 6 inches and weighed about 60 pounds, fell feet first and used her arms to brace herself ― but that the impact was too severe to have been survivable.
The researchers estimate that Lucy was going about 35 miles an hour when she hit the ground after falling from a height of roughly 40 feet, according to the statement.
“Our hypothesis suggests that the fractures in Lucy’s shoulder were produced when she stretched out her arms in a last desperate attempt to break her fall. We have all done this when we fall. It was in the moment of understanding her death, of literally being able to experience what she went through, that I felt empathy for her. My understanding of her death brought her to life for me.”
Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lucy-died-three-million-years-ago_us_57c468fce4b09cd22d91afb7?section=&
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... that was "rapey."
Or not. 
