Three children were taken to the hospital after a large branch came crashing down unexpectedly on a summer camp group in Norwood, Massachusetts, the town said Thursday.
Town officials said it happened at Father Mac's Playground near Vernon Street, where the town's recreation department regularly hosts a day camp. Police said the branch fell onto a group of about 11 elementary-aged campers who were sitting under the tree.
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”When it was coming down, it sounded like fireworks,” Waylon Nutting said. "I was shaking a little bit, yeah."
The injuries were described as minor, the worst being an ankle injury, the town said. In total, three girls were taken to the hospital for treatment. All three are expected to recover, according to police.
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Suzanne Vanhoesen is a nurse who lives next-door and tried to help after the limb landed on a second grader's ankle.
”She asked me if she would walk again, I said I think you definitely will,” Vanhoesen said. "I did a quick assessment of her. I could see the color in her foot was good. I asked her to wiggle her toes. She did.”
It was a frightening situation for the kids, though, and one that could have been much worse. Another 75 campers were on a field trip away from the area at the time of the incident.
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"The branch was very large, probably over a foot and a half in diameter and 20-30 feet long, so it was very, very heavy,” Norwood Police Chief Christopher Padden said. "We’re very fortunate that it didn’t land square on the kids that were there because that could have been very tragic.”
The Public Works Department is trimming back trees in the park after the incident. By mid-afternoon, crews had already removed the tree from where the large limb fell off. It's unclear why it came down Thursday.
Campers like Nutting say they’ll be back to summer camp on Friday, despite this mishap.
