Fallen Tree Kills 10-Year-Old Girl In NoVA Home

WARRENTON, VA — This week's round of storms took a tragic turn when a 10-year-old girl was killed after a tree fell onto her home Wednesday in Warrenton. Lydia Gherghis, 10, was identified as the victim, according to the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office.

A neighbor in the 6200 block of Highmeadow Place called 911 emergency personnel around 10:25 p.m. Wednesday. Police and fire/rescue arrived to find a large tree had crashed into the bedroom of the home, trapping Gherghis underneath. She was unresponsive and pronounced dead a short time later. Her body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Manassas for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

A technical rescue team from Prince William County assisted to stabilize the tree and the house in order to remove the girl. First responders had to help her grieving parents out of the home in case it would have collapsed, according to NBC Washington.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the girl's family to cover funeral expenses. She was an avid softball player and a student at Gravely Elementary School in Haymarket, NBC Washington reported.

"Lydia was a beautiful and kind girl who was the embodiment of the phrase 'full of life,' stated friends on the page. "Her smile and laugh were contagious and she always had a twinkle in her eyes."

The cause of the tree collapse has not been confirmed, but authorities believe the recent rain saturating the ground could be a factor.

The tragedy was one of a few emerging from the storms in recent weeks. On July 23, a Burke woman died after a tree fell onto her home. A few days earlier, two twin girls and their father were injured by a fallen tree while playing in their backyard.

Image via GoFundMe, a Patch promotional partner.