On Saturday, a 100-foot tall eucalyptus tree mysteriously toppled over following a late-afternoon wedding in Southern California. The ceremony, which took place in Whittier’s Penn Park, ended in tragedy after multiple people found themselves trapped under the tree. One person was killed with at least five other people injured.
NBC Los Angeles relays an eyewitness statement from Mary Escarga, who said the tree gave little warning of impending doom: “I heard the crackling, and I’m looking up, and it was just an odd sound.” Another witness, Rene Zaldivar, relayed that the bride’s distress was evident: “She was limping a little bit, but she was screaming about her mom — they couldn’t wake her up.”
The fire department used chainsaws to free the trapped wedding guests, most of whom suffered only moderate injuries and are expected to fully recover. There’s no word yet on the identify of the guest who was killed. Los Angeles Fire Department Deputy Chief John Tripp stated some relief at how more people weren’t injured: “It could have been a lot worse.”
An investigation will dig into the cause of the tree’s toppling, which may have been partially prompted by heavy rains in the area on Friday.
(Via NBC Los Angeles)