For Immediate Release

Monday, Feb. 13, 2017

Contact: Captain Richard Flynn, PIO
Office: 781-316-3907
Cell: 781-844-1224
Email: rflynn@town.arlington.ma.us

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Large Section of Tree Falls, Downing Power Lines and Transformer and Striking Woman Walking with her Son

Arlington Woman Expected to Survive, Child Not Injured

ARLINGTON — Police Chief Frederick Ryan reports that the Arlington Police and Fire Departments responded Monday afternoon after a large portion of a tree fell, downing power lines and striking a woman who was walking with her young son.

At approximately 3:08 p.m., the Arlington Police Department was notified about a tree limb that had fallen in the area of Bellevue Road and Morton Road in Arlington. First arriving units found that a massive bough from a fork-shaped tree had fallen, causing a utility pole and a power transformer to crash onto the ground.

Witnesses at the scene told police that a woman had been injured, and rescuers soon found a 29-year-old Arlington woman and her 3-year-old son. The mother was complaining of a head injury and was treated by the Arlington Fire Department. She was taken by Armstrong Ambulance to a local hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life threatening. The child was not injured.

One vehicle was also damaged in the fall, and electrical service was cut off to the neighborhood. Eversource Electric responded to affect repairs.

Examining the scene, Chief Ryan concluded that it was extremely lucky that the woman and her child were not more seriously injured or killed.

“We are very thankful that this situation did not turn into a tragedy. This resident and her young child were standing amidst live electrical lines, heavy tree branches, a utility pole, and a power transformer, which all fell around her,” Chief Ryan said. “We wish her the best for a speedy recovery, but all things considered she was tremendously lucky.”

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