Toronto city staff inspecting park trees after falling branch kills woman

The City of Toronto is assessing trees in a popular park after a woman who was struck by a falling branch last week died of her injuries.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she was sending her condolences to the loved ones of Pari Nadimi, a 71-year-old owner of an art gallery who has been identified in media reports as the person who died after being hit by a branch in Trinity Bellwoods Park.

“My heart goes out to the family and friends of Pari Nadimi,” Chow tweeted on Tuesday.

“I know that the Toronto arts community, where she has made an impact for decades, is mourning her tragic loss.”

City spokesperson Bradlee Bomberry said the tree that was involved has been removed and city staff are analyzing it.

Bomberry said city employees are conducting visual assessments of trees located in high-use areas in Trinity Bellwoods Park.

Bomberry said city staff perform visual inspections and maintenance of more than five million trees in the city throughout the year but incidents like what happened in Trinity Bellwoods Park can still happen, even with healthy trees.

“The City remains committed to performing maintenance activities throughout the year which includes pruning branches within the tree’s crown and, when necessary, tree removal,” he wrote in a statement.

“A primary focus of the City is maintaining city trees in a safe and healthy condition which is critical for establishing a mature, sustainable urban forest.”

Heather Laxdal, who was sitting on a bench near the stump of the removed tree on Tuesday, said the death of Nadimi was shocking.

“It’s very sad,” she said. “It’s completely random and tragic.”

The City of Toronto said it’s asking residents to report hazardous trees and branches.

Last week, a child died in British Columbia after being hit by a falling tree while in a provincial park.

BC Parks said the child was at a campground at Okanagan Lake Provincial Park on Saturday when they were hit by a falling tree. BC Parks said the child died a short time later in hospital.

In early July, Manitoba RCMP said they were investigating the death of a man who was apparently killed in a tent by a falling tree while at a campground near Lake Winnipeg.

In that case, officers were told that during a thunderstorm that produced high winds, a large tree fell onto a tent where a man and woman had been sleeping.

– With files from William Eltherington