A terrifying incident at a Norwood, Massachusetts, playground left the community shaken when a massive tree limb, estimated to weigh thousands of pounds, crashed onto a bench occupied by children. Norwood Police Chief Christopher Padden reported that four children, attendees of the local summer camp held at Father McAleer Playground, were struck by the fallen branch. "Four children were hit by parts of the branch. Three of them were transported to the hospital," Padden said in a statement obtained by Boston 25 News. Despite the potentially fatal hazard, the injuries reported were not severe.
Of the children affected by the incident, a girl experienced the most harrowing ordeal, finding her foot trapped beneath the weight of the timber. Firefighters had to employ extraction tools typically reserved for vehicular wrecks to free her. Padden described the branch as "very heavy" and stated the camp would've been unable to move if without the help of the fire department. This information aligns with reports from WCVB detailing the rescue effort.
Local resident and nurse Suzanne Van Hoesen was among the first on scene and stayed with the injured girl until emergency services arrived. "I could hear children screaming. Adrenaline started pumping and I just ran over there," Van Hoesen told Boston 25 News. She provided immediate care, asking the girl to wiggle her toes and ensuring her foot was not devoid of circulation before she was taken to the hospital.
The incident has prompted a review of the local flora; Chief Padden stated that the town will now assess the tree in question to determine its fate and check other trees in the area for similar hazards. The potential risk had seemingly been anticipated by residents like Van Hoesen, who had recently trimmed branches on her own property to prevent an event such as this one. Describing the playground's trees as "very old" and "very big," she stressed the importance of proactive measures to safeguard the community's children. Following the incident, crews were seen addressing the aftermath, segmenting the fallen branch with chainsaws and feeding the pieces into a wood chipper, a somber reminder of what might have been had fortune not favored the few.
