Mother Hit By Tree In Central Park Suffered Neck Fracture Trying To Shield Children: Report

CENTRAL PARK, NY — A woman seriously injured by a falling tree Tuesday in Central Park suffered a fractured neck while trying to shield her three young children, according to reports.

Anne Monoky Goldman, 39, broke her neck when a giant elm tree collapsed on her and her children Tuesday morning, her brother-in-law told the New York Post. Goldman was walking through the park with her three children — James, an infant, Grant, 2, and Will, 4, — the Post reported. The two year old suffered a fractured skull during the tree collapse, but the other children were discharged from the hospital Goldman's brother-in-law told the Post.

Goldman and the three children were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital after being struck by the falling tree around 10 a.m., city Parks Department officials told Patch. The tree collapsed on West Drive near West 62nd street, completely blocking the roadway.

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Parks Department crews are inspecting trees in the vicinity for health and safety and are investigating the cause of the tree collapse, a Parks Department spokesman told Patch. The Parks Department spokesman told Patch he could not confirm the identities of the victims or the relationship between the injured woman and children.

The tree, and all trees in Central Park, are maintained by the Central Park Conservancy, a Parks Department spokesman told Patch.

Goldman is still recovering at the hospital, her brother-in-law told the Post, but is most concerned with the health of her children.

"Nothing [is] more important to her than her kids. No question that when her sons recover from this, she, too, will get better. But for the moment, she is struggling," Ryan Goldman told the Post.

Read the Post's full article here.

Photo courtesy NYPD Central Park Precinct