Latest news with #treebranch
Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Telegraph
Woman in her 30s killed by falling branch in park
A woman has died after being hit by a falling tree branch in a park in Lancashire, police have confirmed. The incident happened in Witton Park, Blackburn, at just after 8.30pm on Monday. The woman, who was in her 30s, was walking with a child when the incident happened, according to local media. A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary said: 'We were called to Witton Park, Preston Old Road, Blackburn, at 8.33pm following reports a woman had been struck by a falling tree branch. 'Emergency services attended and found the woman unresponsive. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, she was tragically pronounced dead at the scene. 'Her death is not being treated as suspicious, and a file will be prepared for HM Coroner in due course.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Old House Handyman: A scrapyard story after a near disaster
The washing machine failed in a way that filled the house with acrid smoke. A project to remodel a half bath — including moving the laundry 'room' from that space to a second-floor room above it — was delayed by unexpected additions to the project and a plumber who didn't show up. And a massive tree branch hit by a brief and powerful gust of wind crashed across the driveway five minutes after our daughter drove across that very spot to park in her garage. In short, the branch, 2 feet in diameter and at least 20 feet long, could have flattened her car and killed her if her timing had been off by minutes. We all share a collective sigh of relief and send up prayers of thanksgiving for her safety. It was quite a month at the home of Daughter No. 2, but there was a bright spot in all of this: I took her along with me for her first visit to a scrapyard. Some might call it a junkyard. Others would call it an auto-wrecking company. And we look at it as a recycling center that pays us to not toss old appliances, pieces of metal pipe, a castoff cast-iron tub or strings of old wiring into a landfill. In short, it's an adventure. On my first trip to the scrapyard a few weeks ago, I pulled up to the gate to see a concrete-block building with more bars across the windows than a state penitentiary and more grime caked to the walls than mud stuck to a farmer's boots. There were no signs offering directions on how to proceed, but beyond the gate was a platform that I assumed was a scale to weigh my truck going in and weigh it going out, so that the operators would know how much metal I deposited. But there were no signs. So I hopped out of the truck and pushed open the rusted metal door to the office. Inside, I found a pretty, young woman sitting behind a desk. She was thumbing through a stack of auto titles, which I presumed were the recently departed cars that were on their way to be melted for reuse in some other car or a new washing machine. She did not look up. Old House Handyman: Rain barrel has many benefits in the old house 'Hello,' I said. 'I'm new here. I have a couple of old microwave ovens. Where should I take them?' 'Drive onto the scale,' she said without looking up. 'Wait for the green light. Drive straight ahead and turn left, and dump them there.' I did as instructed, driving between piles of battered appliances, pieces of wrecked cars, mountains of twisted wiring and piles of indistinguishable, rusting, recyclable refuse. A young man appeared from nowhere and asked, 'That all you got?' Yes, I said. 'Don't drop them. I'll take care of them,' he said. He grabbed them from my truck and tossed them like footballs onto one of the piles. I thanked him and drove back between the growing piles and past men operating cranes and loaders, drove onto the scale and waited for the green light. But now what? I stopped at the office again, opened the door and was greeted by… silence from the stoic, artistically tattooed young woman. 'Me again!' I said cheerfully. She did not respond, but eventually peered over the top of her glasses as if to say she was at least not happy to see me and, at most, growing annoyed by the newbie in her presence. 'Can you tell me what to do next?' I asked. She exhaled an exasperated sigh. 'Park out front. Come back here with your ID.' I did as instructed, returning to the office and the same frostiness. She took my driver's license and swiped it through a card reader. 'Look up at the camera,' she said, pointing generally up in the direction of the wall behind her. I had no idea where the camera was, so I'm sure that's a portrait fit for framing. 'Take the receipt over to the ATM, scan the bar code and get your cash,' she said. At the same time, a man with the beard and vibe of a member of the ZZ Top rock band had his feet on a desk behind me, and he launched into a profane lecturing of the young man who had thrown my microwaves like footballs. The bearded one unleashed the most creative use of eff-bombs I have ever heard — so much so that I was momentarily distracted. 'Excuse me?' I said to the young woman. 'Could you tell me again what I need to do?' Old House Handyman: It's the season for gutter and drainpipe cleaning Another exasperated sigh. 'Take the receipt over to the ATM and get your cash,' she said without raising her voice or her eyes. Again, I did as instructed, struggled a bit to get the ATM to read the bar code on my receipt, and waited for my cash. 'Grab it fast before it pulls the cash back in,' said the helpful microwave thrower. I jumped as the cash appeared and pulled out a whole $6! So when our daughter was feeling a little blue about an AWOL plumber, nearly getting flattened by a tree branch and seeing her washing machine go up in smoke, I told her that I knew of something that would cheer her up. 'You need some entertainment. Let's take your washing machine to the scrapyard!' Alan D. Miller is a former Dispatch editor who teaches journalism at Denison University and writes about old house repair and historic preservation based on personal experiences and questions from readers. youroldhouse1@ @youroldhouse This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Old House Handyman: A scrapyard story Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
13-05-2025
- CBS News
Falling tree branch at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo seriously hurts young girl
A young girl was seriously hurt Tuesday afternoon when they were hit with a falling tree branch at the Franklin Park Zoo. It happened around 12:45 p.m. in the area of the Farmhouse Café at the zoo. Massachusetts State Police said the child, who was only described as "school-aged," was taken to Boston Children's Hospital by ambulance. A parent who was at the zoo Tuesday told WBZ-TV that she heard the sound of the branch snapping. When the woman turned around, she said she saw a little girl on the ground. The witness also said she saw an adult with a cut and bruise to her forehead. State police said the adult who was with the child was taken to an area hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately known. Police did not release any additional information, but said the incident is still under investigation. A spokesperson for Franklin Park Zoo said staff members and emergency personnel responded when the branch fell onto the child. Franklin Park Zoo is operated by Zoo New England on 72 acres of land in Boston's Franklin Park. According to the zoo website, it was founded in 1912 and managed by the City of Boston until 1958 when a different state agency took over until 1991. That's when Commonwealth Zoological Corporation, which eventually changed its name to Zoo New England, took over. This is a developing news story that will be updated as more information becomes available.
