Woman, toddler trapped under falling tree, wires

ARLINGTON, Mass. — A woman and her toddler escaped serious injuries Monday when a large tree fell on top of them while out walking in Arlington.

Police Chief Frederick Ryan said the woman and several children were walking Morton Road around 3p.m. when the tree snapped from the weight of the snow.

Sarah Dredge, 29, and her 2 ½-year-old son were trapped under the branches and electrical wires that were brought down along with the tree.

“I just heard a crack, and I turned around and saw it falling,” Dredge’s sister-in-law Elizabeth Beutler said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh they’re all going to be dead there.’”

Several people who live nearby rushed to help.

"The woman had a little boy and she was like grab my baby, grab my baby so I took him inside and he seemed to be ok and she got a big knock on the head," Danielle Harrell said.

Power was knocked out to the area, but everyone in town is thankful no one was killed.

“Within inches, these people got off out of this with very minor injuries.  This could have been a tragic accident here,” Arlington Police Capt. Richard Flynn said.

Dredge was taken to a hospital to be treated for a concussion. Her son was not seriously injured.

Cox Media Group