This morning, a massive tree limb fell and struck several children who were sitting on a bench while attending summer camp at Father Mac’s Playground.
The tree limb was more than a foot in diameter and weighed “thousands of pounds.”, according to an estimate by Norwood Police Chief Christopher Patton.
“The branch fall unfortunately caused minor injuries to several campers who were in the vicinity,” officials said.
“Four children were hit by parts of the branch,” Patton said. “Three of them were transported to the hospital. No injuries were serious. One girl had her foot pinned under a portion of the tree.”
The worst injury sustained appears to be an ankle injury, according to officials.
The branch was so massive that the Norwood Fire Department had to use its equipment to lift it.
“It was a very big branch. We’re very fortunate that there weren’t more kids, because if that branch had landed on somebody, it would’ve been a lot worse,” Patton said.
They added: “Out of an abundance of caution, the Public Works Department will be conducting additional trimming and branch removal beyond their routine maintenance at the site.”
Crews with chainsaws and wood chippers were on the scene working on the tree. It’s not known if the entire tree will need to be removed, but Patton said he’s sure the DPW will assess it along with all the other trees in the area to be sure they are safe and that they will remove any trees or branches that pose any additional risk.
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