Around ten kids and a young mom with a baby and another young child in a stroller narrowly escaped injury on Saturday night in Fordham Manor’s St. James Park after a heavy tree branch suddenly broke off its trunk and crashed to the ground, sending those underneath scrambling to safety, an eyewitness said.

 

Though there weren’t strong winds blowing at the time the branch broke and fell, witnesses said, there was some light drizzle amid some earlier scattered thunderstorms.

 

FDNY / EMS officials told Norwood News emergency services were called to 2550 Creston Avenue / St. James Park at around 7.56 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, for a report of a downed tree and “people trapped.”

 

Upon arrival, EMS said while there was a downed tree branch at the location, nobody was found to be pinned underneath and there were no resulting injuries.

Witnesses told Norwood News from the sound of the first crack, amid frantic cries of “Run” from onlookers, the incident lasted about 10 seconds. One witness told us the branches from other nearby trees temporarily stalled the eventual fall of the broken tree branch, allowing those underneath a few more seconds to get out of the way and escape uninjured.

 

 

Some other trees in the park appear somewhat lopsided and are seemingly growing at an angle, while one eyewitness told us she had concerns for one other tree in particular located closer to the children’s playground which also has heavy branches, and is potentially ready to fall.

Speaking in Spanish, one female witness, Zoraida Fadean, told Norwood News about the mother and her two kids who had been underneath the tree just before it fell, one of whom, she said, was in a stroller and the other she was holding by the hand. She said people ordered her to run to one side. “I thought maybe there was someone under the tree but there was nobody, thanks be to God,” she said. “The family was ok. It was about 50-60 metres [they had to run].”

 

Fadean said she, herself, had children but they hadn’t been in the park at the time of the tree branch fall. We asked her if she was nervous about other tree branches potentially falling and injuring her kids. “Yes, we’re never sure,” she said. “They should check the trees to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen. Look at this one,” she added, gesturing to another tree nearby. “That alone could cause a lot of damage to children.” She added, “When it happened, it [the break] made a stranger sound. Everyone came running to see if anyone was hurt.”

 

Another female witness, Luljan Ortega, also speaking in Spanish, told us, “We were here, seated, and there was a large number of people present, children underneath the tree.” She continued, “I still feel a little bit in shock. Suddenly, I heard a noise and I started to look around to see where it was coming from and then I saw people looking up and the branch started to fall down quickly. I saw the kids running and there was a mother with a stroller with a baby and she had another child [by the hand] and she was running quickly, and thanks be to God, they escaped becuase it was just at the point where the branch fell.”

Ortega continued, “I ran over afterwards, when I saw the kids running, to see if anyone was hurt but thanks be to God, nobody was.” With all of the foliage, Ortega said it was actually quite difficult to see initially if there was anyone trapped underneath. “The paramedics and the ambulance and the police arrived quickly but nobody was injured,” she said.

 

She added, “It’s important to say that it’s very insecure to pass time in the park.” She explained that branches from the other nearby trees blocked the fall of the broken tree branch and slightly broke its fall to the ground. We asked how long it took in total to fall. She said, “From the sound of the first noise of the break, it lasted about 11-12 seconds. Someone shouted to the ten or so kids in that area around the tree, some of whom were in strollers, ‘Run! Run!'”

 

We also spoke to one male park cyclist called Ivan who told us a friend of his, who was in the park at the time the tree fell, called him and told him to come to the park. Speaking in Spanish, the man said, “When I arrived, I was surprised to see the tree branch on the ground. It shocked me.” He said he wondered if there were people underneath it.

We asked if there were and he said at that time (after the incident), there were not. He said there were, however, people who had gathered around the tree. “It was amazing [nobody was injured] with all the people who had been here playing and coming to the park and with this tree branch that is so big,” he said. He said the emergency services had arrived at that point, including an ambulance, FDNY and police.

 

We asked if there had been much rainfall around the time the tree branch fell, and the man said, “A bt of air like it is now [which was not much at all]” he said, adding that it was only like that for a little while. He said many people approached the tree to see if anyone was trapped underneath. “Thanks be to God, there was nobody there,” he said.

 

Norwood News has reached out to the Parks department for comment on the incident. We were informed that Parks’ staff were dispatched early Sunday morning to address the condition and remove the tree limb, described as an Oak, and that the area has since been cleared. We asked again about residents’ concerns regarding the possibility of other tree branches falling and will update this story should we receive any further feedback.