Family Reaches $28M Settlement With California City Where Huge Tree Collapsed, Killing Woman

The family of a woman who died after a giant tree collapsed on a wedding party in 2016 have reached a $28 million settlement with the city of Whittier, California over the incident. They were posing for photos underneath when the 80-foot tall eucalyptus tree fell, killing the mother of the bride and severely injuring a 3-year-old child.

“I watched this thing collapse on a whole wedding party,” a shaken witness said. “They were just running for their lives, man.”

Video taken by the witness shows firefighters perform CPR on the bride’s 61-year-old mother, but tragically she didn’t make it. Rescuers tried to free seven people trapped under the tree. The 3-year-old suffered irreparable brain damage. As stunned members of the wedding party waited nearby, one little boy could be seen praying.

The incident occurred in a park outside of Los Angeles. The tree that once stood there was a romantic setting for wedding photo, but the family claims evidence shows that it was in bad condition for at least a decade and should have been cut down.

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