Investigation Into Tree Limb's Fall On Trio Of Toddlers Continues

PASADENA, CA - Authorities Wednesday were continuing to investigate what caused a large tree limb to fall outside a children's center in Pasadena, critically injuring a 2-year-old girl.

The eucalyptus tree branch fell around noon Tuesday at the Linda Vista Children's Center, 1250 Linda Vista Ave., said Lisa Derderian of the Pasadena Fire Department.

Paramedics also took two other children with minor injuries -- ages 3 and 4 -- to a hospital out of an abundance of caution, she said.

There is a fire station across the street from the children's center and firefighters arrived on scene about one minute after being dispatched, according to Derderian, who said it was lunchtime when the youngsters were injured.

According to city spokesman William Boyer, the tree is on the property of a former public school.

"The property continues to be owned by the Pasadena Unified School District, but a portion of it, including where the tree is located, has been used by the city for the past several years as a neighborhood park under a joint-use agreement with the school district," Boyer said. "Part of the school property that is adjacent to the park is being used for the private preschool."

The park has been closed since the limb fell and there was no estimate on when it would be reopened, according to Boyer, who declined to give an update on the injured 2-year-old's condition, or even confirm that she remained hospitalized, citing medical privacy laws.

In 2015, a tree fell on a group of children at nearby Kidspace Children's Museum, critically injuring two and causing minor injuries to several others.

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock