1 Dead And 5 Injured In A Tree Crash At A California Wedding

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

A wedding in southern California turned into a tragedy when a huge eucalyptus tree fell on top of the bridal procession and left 1 person dead and 5 more guests injured.

The incident occurred this Saturday afternoon in the town of Whittier, south of the so-called Golden State.

According to a statement released by local police, authorities responded to a call made around 4:30 p.m. reporting that a huge tree had collapsed when the bride and groom were taking photos in Penn Park.

The injured were rushed to a local hospital and included a person who was described as "a 4-year-old female in critical condition with a skull injury."

The fire department was also involved in rescue operations where one person "succumbed to his injuries." The victim, as reported that night at the press conference subsequent to the tragedy, was an "older woman." The rest of the wounded presented "minor wounds and injuries."

Photo published by a witness, the afternoon of the tragedy:

Image showing the damage of recent rains in the area:

The firefighters had to use saws to cut the trunk and branches of the tree and be able to free the victims; Mental health professionals and a chaplain were also on hand to assist those present. “The first officers to arrive at the scene immediately went to work, trying to do their best to get the people trapped under the tree out, and then colleagues from the Los Angeles Fire Department came to cooperate, handle the situation and start removing the victims to give them first aid,”said an element of the police at the conference, which was shared by the entity through its Facebook page.

"We want to make sure we give the family enough dignity and respect," said one of the representatives of public order in his communications through the networks. “They were gathering for a blissful occasion and then, unfortunately, a huge tree interrupted that; now they are going through a lot of things and we are trying to give them support.”

A representative of the fire department said that fortunately there were not many people by the tree, otherwise "the tragedy would have been much worse."

Photos released by the AP agency showed guests crying and walking around the site visibly moved.

Whittier, California, is located southeast of Los Angeles, an area that has been bathed by a tremendous amount of rainfall recently. According to authorities, said conditions would have caused the collapse of the eucalyptus.