Another strange fatality, but the pet came out ok...
Woman dies after being struck by a falling tree limb at Stern Grove
Marisa Lagos,John Koopman, Chronicle Staff Writers
Monday, April 14, 2008
(04-14) 21:51 PDT San Francisco -- A heavy limb from an apparently healthy redwood tree snapped today and plummeted into a parking lot at San Francisco's Stern Grove, killing a woman who was loading her dog into a car, officials said.
The woman, Kathleen Bolton, 50, was putting the dog into her Subaru Outback at the lot next to the concert meadow around 11:30 a.m. when part of the tree fell, hitting her and her car, said Fire Department Lt. Mindy Talmadge.
Paramedic crews took Bolton to San Francisco General Hospital, where she died at 12:14 p.m. The redwood tree is about 60 feet tall, and the limb that broke off was about 40 feet up from the ground. The limb was about 10 inches in diameter.
The tree is estimated to be around 40 years old and appeared to be healthy, said Recreation and Park Department spokeswoman Rose Dennis. Winds in the city gusted above 25 mph today, but Dennis said it was unknown whether that had anything to do with what happened.
As a precaution, Dennis said, the department closed both parking lots at Stern Grove while officials checked for other hazards.
"Obviously it was a fluke, but it was a tragic fluke," Dennis said.
Dennis said Bolton regularly walked her dog at the park and was a familiar face to Stern Grove staffers.
Officers with the city's Department of Animal Care and Control responded to the scene and found Bolton's uninjured dog, Talmadge said.
E-mail the writers at
mlagos@sfchronicle.com and
jkoopman@sfchronicle.com.
