Witnesses say the man threw himself over his wife to protect her and was struck in the head.

Tree branch kills man in Toronto park, police investigating

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Leeanna McLean

Digital Reporter

Saturday, June 18, 2016, 3:18 PM - Toronto police are investigating after a tree branch broke and struck a man Friday evening, killing him at Trinity Bellwoods Park.

The man, believed to be in his 30s, was sitting under a tree at the popular park around 7:15 p.m. with his wife when suddenly a branch fell. Witnesses say the man threw himself over his wife to protect her and was struck in the head.

The victim's name has yet to be released. Police say he was originally from France and the couple were in Canada on a work permit.

HAZARD:

Trinity Bellwoods Park

-Man has succumbed to his injuries

-He is pronounced dead

-Investigators o/s

^dh — Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) June 17, 2016

CPR was performed on the man by several bystanders until paramedics arrived and took over. His wife was rushed to hospital and treated for shock, according to police. The man was pronounced dead at 7:30 p.m.

The city's Parks, Forestry and Recreation office were contacted to examine the health of the trees in the area. They are working with police to investigate what exactly happened.

Man killed trying to protect wife from falling tree branch in Trinity Bellwoods Park https://t.co/aspMMyXmTd pic.twitter.com/dNdz5e3WW8 — Gabrielle Sabourin (@GabSabourin) June 18, 2016

Mayor John Tory has expressed condolences to the family.

"The park's people are actively investigating, looking at the tree and condition of the tree," Tory told CBC. "There was no reason to believe the tree was in any condition that would cause an accident to occur."

Bystander Michael Patterson was waiting for a friend in the park when he heard the branch break.

"It was a difficult scene. I saw the wife and tried to console her," Patterson told CBC. "I didn't really understand what was happening, but I tried to remove her from what she was seeing."

Patterson said he stayed with the woman until police arrived on scene and told him to leave. Shortly after, he heard the wife scream and assumed that was most likely when police informed the woman her husband had died.

"I've never heard a scream like that before... the first responders did their best, but I hope I never hear a scream like that again. I'm sure they were just here in Trinity Bellwoods like anyone in Toronto would be, just trying to enjoy a Friday night, and it's an absolute tragedy."

Meanwhile, another park-goer says at the time of incident there were no obvious factors like strong winds that could have caused the branch to snap.

"I can understand if it's wintertime witch ice on the tree, but this is summertime and that's a healthy looking branch," Arttanheru Tsesura told CBC.

SOURCE: CBC

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