2-year-old boy killed by falling tree limb in Bucks County as weekend storm moved in
The Bucks County coroner says the boy was with his mom and older sibling when strong winds swept through the area.
LOWER SOUTHAMPTON TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A two-year-old Bucks County boy is dead after police say a tree branch fell on him over the weekend.
Lower Southampton Township police say the tragedy happened Saturday around 4 pm. in the backyard of a home on Midfield Road.
"He was out in the backyard and a tree branch broke and fell on top of him," said Chief Ted Krimmel.
The Bucks County coroner says the boy was with his mom and older sibling when strong winds swept through the area and a branch about 25 to 30 feet in length and eight to 10 inches in diameter struck the boy.
"Right after this happened, we had a pretty serious rain storm move through the region - so we had a bad weather day Saturday," said Krimmel.
Police say the family called 911, but by the time officers go to the home, it was already too late.
"It's a sad moment as a father and as an arborist," said Scott McIlvaine, the operations manager at Joseph McIlvaine Tree and Lawn Service.
He says this can be a particularly dangerous time of year because of frequent storms.
"They're trying to grow, they're trying to spring grow, so now when we have a storm and they have leaves on the end and they're full of sap, they just have extra weight in the branches," said McIlvaine.
He says it takes only a 20-mile-per-hour gust of wind to make a branch snap. He recommends everyone monitor the health of the trees in their yard.
"Look up. It's easy to worry about how green your grass looks; the bigger problem is how does the health above you look?" he said.
McIlvaine says there are warning signs you can look for in monitoring tree health, including yellowing leaves and falling tree bark.
