Latest news with #BillMiller
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
‘Her heart's too big': Mom killed by falling tree branch as she camped out in shade at daughter's softball tournament
A Pennsylvania mom was killed after being crushed by a falling tree branch during her teenage daughter's softball tournament. Gendie Miller, 49, and her husband Bill Miller were watching their daughter, Marlee, 16, play in the Western PA College Showcase softball camp at Renziehausen Park in McKeesport, Pennsylania, Wednesday when several large tree branches suddenly fell from above them. The had moved to sit under a tree in the shade because temperatures reached 90 degrees. 'I said to my wife, 'Let's go.' I jumped out of my chair, felt a small branch of some sort that grazed my leg. And I immediately turned to my right to look back at her, and she was face down with large, multiple branches and limbs,' Bill Miller told WTAE. He recalled seeing several branches, each about 10 to 12 inches thick, piled on top of his wife of 17 years. It's unclear what led the tree branches to snap. 'Suddenly, the tree started to make cracking noises and a very large branch fell, striking Gendie in the head, knocking her unconscious to the ground, and entrapping her under the tree,' a GoFundMe page read. Bystanders immediately sprang into action, moving the branches off the mom, but the extent of her injuries was too severe. Gendie Miller was rushed to the hospital, but did not survive. 'To be so traumatic, and with the heavy load of the type of branch and limb, it was devastating. And I can tell you that she didn't die from her heart, because her heart's too big,' Bill Miller said. The dedicated mom 'would never miss a practice or an event, high school, travel ball, whatever it was. That was who she was,' her husband said. 'She would give you the shirt off her back,' he added. The grieving dad said both he and their daughter remain in a state of shock following the incident. 'I think I'm in shock, and surreal that it obviously hasn't hit me the worst – nor my daughter, for that matter. She is being very strong. And, you know, worried about that, just as I'm worried about her,' he said. A GoFundMe started by Marlee Miller's coach noted that since it was in the 90s, the couple had decided to sit under a shady tree while watching their daughter perform drills before scrimmaging in front of college coaches. The fundraiser had received over $48,000 in donations as of Monday morning. 'Between medical/ambulance bills, funeral items, and initial lost wages, Bill and Marlee could use all the help they can get,' the page read. 'Although it doesn't bring back their loved one, it takes a little bit of the burden off of coming up with funds they don't have right now for something so sudden and unexpected.' Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
‘Her heart's too big': Mom killed by falling tree branch as she camped out in shade at daughter's softball tournament
A Pennsylvania mom was killed after being crushed by a falling tree branch during her teenage daughter's softball tournament. Gendie Miller, 49, and her husband Bill Miller were watching their daughter, Marlee, 16, play in the Western PA College Showcase softball camp at Renziehausen Park in McKeesport, Pennsylania, Wednesday when several large tree branches suddenly fell from above them. The had moved to sit under a tree in the shade because temperatures reached 90 degrees. 'I said to my wife, 'Let's go.' I jumped out of my chair, felt a small branch of some sort that grazed my leg. And I immediately turned to my right to look back at her, and she was face down with large, multiple branches and limbs,' Bill Miller told WTAE. He recalled seeing several branches, each about 10 to 12 inches thick, piled on top of his wife of 17 years. It's unclear what led the tree branches to snap. 'Suddenly, the tree started to make cracking noises and a very large branch fell, striking Gendie in the head, knocking her unconscious to the ground, and entrapping her under the tree,' a GoFundMe page read. Bystanders immediately sprang into action, moving the branches off the mom, but the extent of her injuries was too severe. Gendie Miller was rushed to the hospital, but did not survive. 'To be so traumatic, and with the heavy load of the type of branch and limb, it was devastating. And I can tell you that she didn't die from her heart, because her heart's too big,' Bill Miller said. The dedicated mom 'would never miss a practice or an event, high school, travel ball, whatever it was. That was who she was,' her husband said. 'She would give you the shirt off her back,' he added. The grieving dad said both he and their daughter remain in a state of shock following the incident. 'I think I'm in shock, and surreal that it obviously hasn't hit me the worst – nor my daughter, for that matter. She is being very strong. And, you know, worried about that, just as I'm worried about her,' he said. A GoFundMe started by Marlee Miller's coach noted that since it was in the 90s, the couple had decided to sit under a shady tree while watching their daughter perform drills before scrimmaging in front of college coaches. The fundraiser had received over $48,000 in donations as of Monday morning. 'Between medical/ambulance bills, funeral items, and initial lost wages, Bill and Marlee could use all the help they can get,' the page read. 'Although it doesn't bring back their loved one, it takes a little bit of the burden off of coming up with funds they don't have right now for something so sudden and unexpected.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
'Loving mom' suffers horrific tragedy while enjoying daughter's softball game under shady tree
A 'loving mom' from Pennsylvania was killed in a freak accident while enjoying her daughter's softball game last week. Gendie Miller, 49, and her husband Bill were rooting for their 16-year-old daughter Marlee on Wednesday when they decided to get out of the 90-degree heat and sit under a tree, WPXI reports. As the teen was working on her drills just before 7pm, Bill said he heard a cracking sound that jolted him from his seat. 'I said to my wife, "Let's go,"' he recounted to WTAE. 'I jumped out of my chair, felt a small branch of some sort that grazed my leg. And I immediately turned to my right to look back at her and she was lying face down with large, multiple branches and limbs.' Gendie had apparently been struck in the head by one of the branches, which Bill said were between 10 to 12 inches thick. Good Samaritans immediately ran over to help remove the branches off of her limp body, Bill said, but the damage was too severe. She died on her way to the local hospital. 'With the heavy load of the type of branch and limb, it was devastating,' the grieving husband said. 'And I can tell you that she didn't die from her heart, because her heart was too big.' He explained that his wife of 17 years was known for her kind spirit, as well as her love for their travel softball family in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. 'She would never miss a practice or an event, high school, travel ball, wherever it was,' Bill said. 'That was who she was.' Family friend Luka Bompiani also described Gendie as 'such a loving woman, caring woman and a mother who lived for her daughter. 'And she put everything she had into Marlee and everything she had into Bill,' he said. 'It's just sad.' In a statement, Sheri Burdett, the District 9 USA Softball of Pennsylvania commissioner, said she was 'deeply saddened to learn of the tragic situation that occurred before the start of our tournament.' 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the Miller family during this incredibly difficult time,' she said. 'At this moment, our sole focus is on supporting them in any way we can.' McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko also said his 'thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time. 'An evening that started like any other, with families and friends gathered in the park for a game, has ended in tragedy after this horrible accident.' Bill said he remains in shock about what happened, while their teenage daughter is 'being very strong.' Still, community members are rallying around the family, with one of Marlee's coaches on her Nitro Fastpitch team setting up an online fundraiser to help Bill with the expenses related to his wife's untimely passing. 'Between medical/ambulance bills, funeral items and initial lost wages, Bill and Marlee could use all the hope they can get,' Michael Mull writes in the GoFundMe, which had already raised nearly $48,000 for the family as of Sunday. 'Although it doesn't bring back their loved one, it takes a bit of the burden off of coming up with funds they don't have right now for something so unexpected.' 'You never know when your time comes and this was such a freak accident that they definitely need the community support around them,' added Bompiani. Yet the family friend expressed his hope that the family will be OK. He noted that he had spoken with Bill on Friday, when the softball coach told him Marlee looked up at him earlier that day and said, 'Hey dad, we got this. We're gonna get through this, we got this together.' 'When I heard that [it] just brought tears to my eyes,' Bompiani said.
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Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Miami Herald
Mom dies after tree branch falls on her at daughter's softball camp, PA family says
A family is mourning after they say a woman was hit by a falling tree branch at a softball camp in Pennsylvania, killing her. Gendie Miller and her husband, Bill, were watching their daughter play softball at the Western Pennsylvania College Showcase Camp in McKeesport on July 24, WPXI reported. The couple was sitting under a 'large shady tree since temperatures were in the 90s' while their daughter performed drills before a scrimmage in front of college coaches, according to a GoFundMe page. Then, Bill Miller heard a cracking sound, WTAE reported. 'I said to my wife, 'Let's go.' I jumped out of my chair, felt a small branch of some sort that grazed my leg. And I immediately turned to my right to look back at her, and she was face down with large, multiple branches and limbs,' Bill Miller told the news outlet. Gendie Miller was knocked unconscious. As she was being transported to a hospital, she stopped breathing and was pronounced dead on arrival, the GoFundMe said. 'It's such a crazy, freak accident,' family friend Luka Bompiani told WPXI. 'There's no weather involved, no wind. They were just sitting under a tree watching their daughter play softball.' Nitro Fastpitch 16U Walker said in a Facebook post that the Nitro family mourns the loss of Gendie Miller as it 'is felt through waves of grief and sorrow.' 'We didn't know that could happen so soon. The next few weeks will be tough. I love you Gendie Miller. Until we meet again, I love you forever,' Brandon Bickle, who said Gendie Miller was his aunt, wrote in a Facebook post. McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said in a statement to WTAE that the city's 'thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.' 'An evening that started like any other, with families and friends gathered in the park for a game, has ended in tragedy after this horrible accident,' Cherepko said, according to the outlet. McKeesport is about a 15-mile drive southeast from Pittsburgh.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Why did the Orioles and Rockies keep playing after fans evacuated seats?
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies played through rain for about two innings Friday night even after fans were told to evacuate open areas of the seating bowl because of potential lightning in the area. It made for an unusual stretch of baseball at Camden Yards, with fans taking shelter for their own safety but players still on the field. The reason was that those two decisions are made by different people. The Orioles decided to clear fans from their seats, but the umpiring crew determines whether the game should continue. 'They did clear the stands unbeknownst to me,' crew chief Bill Miller said after Colorado's 6-5 win. "We are concerned about lightning, but the crew did not see any lightning in the area. We saw it from afar, but we didn't think at any time anybody on the field was in danger.' Fans were told to move around the start of the sixth inning, and it did indeed rain. Many spectators were still able to watch the game from sheltered seats with a view of the field. They were told they could go back to their original seats around the end of the seventh. The game was never delayed. 'I trust the fact that the umpires have our health and safety in their best judgment, and I applaud the Orioles for kind of clearing out the lower bowl and kind of mitigating any risk whatsoever, making sure that the fans were in a safe spot,' Baltimore interim manager Tony Mansolino said. Miller said he was receiving weather reports. 'I was getting updates every half-inning from the grounds crew gentleman. He said that we were going to get hit by a big storm in a half an hour. He said at 8:45 it was going to come. It was going to be windy, it was going to be rainy and there was going to be thunder and lightning,' Miller said. 'I asked him to give me a half-inning update, and it progressively diminished. The storm was decidedly moving south. He thought the top of it was going to catch us.' ___ AP MLB:
