29-05-2025
Grandfather dies saving twin granddaughters from falling tree limb in Dacula
A 78-year-old Dacula man died Wednesday after pushing his twin 8-year-old granddaughters and his sister out of the way of a massive falling tree limb, his family says.
Manuel Javier Pinzon was with the girls around noon on Ewing Chapel Road when they discovered a small animal in his backyard. The twins had been excited about their find, sending pictures to family members.
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'My girls found a baby deer in the backyard. They've been playing back here for years,' said Jason Krause, Pinzon's son-in-law.
Pinzon and his sister joined the girls to help give the deer water. That's when they heard a loud cracking sound from above.
'There was a very loud cracking sound, crashing. Cracking is kind of how they described it, and they got shoved out of the way. Then when they turned back, he had gotten them out of the way and taken the full hit of a falling branch, a falling limb on his head, and he didn't make it,' Krause said.
The 20-foot branch had broken off about 80 feet up from a massive tree. Krause estimates it weighed 75 to 85 pounds.
Eight-year-old Gabriela grabbed her grandfather's phone and called 911, her small hands covered in blood as she followed the operator's instructions. Her twin sister Isabella ran for help from adults inside the house.
'My other aunt came out here, and I told her to pass me the phone, and I called 911 and they just told me what to do,' Gabriela said through tears.
Pinzon was rushed to Northside Hospital Gwinnett, where he died about four hours later.
The heroic sacrifice was not the first time Pinzon had saved his family. Nearly 30 years ago, he fled Colombia with his wife and daughters after political violence claimed his mother's life, bringing them to safety in America.
He is remembered as someone who put others first until the very end.
'He chose to protect his sister and these two girls instead of himself. And I don't think that should be forgotten. He was a hero,' Krause said.
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