Woman critically injured when tree branch falls on her in SF park

A large tree branch fell and struck a woman in Washington Square park in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. A large tree branch fell and struck a woman in Washington Square park in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. Photo: Dylan Entelis, The Chronicle Photo: Dylan Entelis, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Woman critically injured when tree branch falls on her in SF park 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A 36-year-old woman visiting a San Francisco park with her children suffered life-threatening injuries Friday afternoon when a large tree branch fell and hit her on the head in the North Beach neighborhood, fire officials said.

The woman was inside Washington Square with her 5- and 6-year-old children at the time of the incident, said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a San Francisco Fire Department spokesman. The children were reunited with their father, he said.

Crews estimate the tree limb weighed approximately 100 pounds and fell on the woman from a distance of about 50 feet, Baxter said.

Paramedics arrived on scene about 3:15 p.m. to rush the woman to a hospital. Officials said she was in critical condition with a head injury.

The Department of Public Works was dispatching an arborist to the scene to investigate why the branch gave way, Baxter said. It was not known where the woman was in the park at the time of the accident.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno