Falling tree branch kills man in Trinity Bellwoods Park

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Falling tree branch kills man in Trinity Bellwoods Park
By Daniel McKenzie, Toronto Sun
First posted: Friday, June 17, 2016 09:15 PM EDT | Updated: Saturday, June 18, 2016 08:35 AM EDT
A man died after being struck by a falling tree branch in Trinity Bellwoods Park on Friday night.
Toronto Police confirmed just after 8 p.m. that the man had died in the popular Queen St. W. park.
“He was in the park and was walking his bike with a female,” said a source who was in the park that wanted to remain anonymous. “He was underneath the tree, and a very large branch snapped and struck him in the head.”
Toronto Police said that witnesses tried to help but the man’s injuries were too severe.
“He stopped breathing. We had some passersby perform CPR but he succumbed to his injuries and has been pronounced,” police said.
The man’s name and age have yet to be released.
There were no other injuries reported.
The scene in Trinity Bellwoods Park after a tree branch fell and killed a man on Friday night (Photo by Pascal Marchand)

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City investigating after man killed by fallen tree branch
By Maryam Shah, Toronto Sun
First posted: Saturday, June 18, 2016 07:13 PM EDT | Updated: Saturday, June 18, 2016 07:19 PM EDT
Michael Patterson hopes to never again hear a scream like the one he heard in Trinity Bellwoods Park on Friday night.

He was one of the first people to rush to the scene after a tree branch fell from a tall tree and killed a young man who was enjoying a warm evening outdoors with his wife.

“It was a terrible tragedy,” Patterson recalled on Saturday as he returned to the park to lay a bouquet of flowers at the foot of the tree. “I heard the tree snap. It was awful. Everyone did what they could. First responders were absolutely incredible, and I just grabbed the wife to try and take her away from everything that was happening to try and console her.”

She was yelling in French, he added. According to Patterson, another man nearby spoke the language and quickly joined them.

“We tried to pull her back and kind of shield her from everything that was going on,” he said.

The man was pronounced dead on scene. Patterson said it all unfolded around 7:20 p.m.

Police said the man was 30 years old and that there was no indication of foul play.

The city’s parks department is investigating.

Aside from removing some dead and injured branches on Saturday morning, parks staff found the tree in good health.

“There is no indication at this time that the tree wasn’t healthy,” said parks spokesman Matthew Cutler. “It’s quite possible that this incident had nothing to do with tree health at all.”

The branch that struck the man has been moved to a parks facility for further inspection.

“We will continue to work with the relevant authorities as they investigate and send our condolences to the victim and their family,” Cutler said.

Local Councillor Mike Layton said parks staff do 150,000 assessments of trees each year, and in places like Trinity Bellwoods those assessments are more frequent.

“(The man’s death is) a terrible tragedy and something we would never want to see happen,” Layton said.

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Tree safety in spotlight in wake of man's death
By Aaron D'Andrea, Toronto Sun
First posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 08:57 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 09:00 PM EDT
TORONTO - Rosedale residents are worried about falling trees in the wake of the death of one man in the city and damage caused in separate mishaps.

On Monday night during high winds, a tree fell at the corner of Roxborough St. E. and Chestnut Park Rd., shattering a street lamp and damaging a stop sign.

“It came down with the kind of force that had someone been there, it could have been deadly,” said Graeme McDonald, 60, who spotted the downed tree while walking to his local Starbucks.

McDonald said he noticed “what looked to be termites or ants” at the tree’s trunk.

“I was taken aback from the extent of the damage,” he said. “For the entire tree to fall at ground level, exposing what seemingly looked like an infested tree that is damaged to the extent that it would fall during such a mild storm.”

Last week, a man in his 30s died after a branch fell on him in Trinity Bellwoods Park.

Tait Sala, an arborist at Cohen and Master Tree and Shrub Services, said people should always be aware of safety issues with trees.

“When trees are around people, there are certain risks that are associated with it,” he said. “These are big structures that are up in the air and there’s a lot of weight on them, of course you have things connected with that stuff falling down.”

City officials say they are working to prevent such problems.

“We really made a shift from performing work on a reactive basis,” said Brian Mercer, manager of forestry, policy and planning. “Last year, we maintained over 80,000 trees doing things that way, so we wouldn’t be able to achieve those numbers doing things reactively like we were.”

Mercer added the city deploys crews to maintain trees in an entire area. Some of the city’s protocol for inspection involves pruning trees, removing dead wood and pest treatment.

Last year, the city completed more than 400,000 work orders for tree maintenance, and over 150,000 inspections.
A toppled tree at the corner of Roxborough St. E. and Chestnut Park Rd. that shattered a street lamp and damaged a stop sign on Monday, June 21, 2016. (Graeme McDonald photo)

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