At a wedding in Whittier, CA over the weekend, one person was killed and five others were injured when a massive, dead eucalyptus tree toppled over. The identity of the deceased was released and it was 61-year-old Margarita Mojarro, the mother of the bride.
Woman killed by falling tree during wedding photos identified as mother of the bride https://t.co/GFCScFoG1f pic.twitter.com/x0cbs08Ti2
— People Magazine (@people) December 20, 2016
Mojarro lived in San Pedro, CA, and was the mother of four. The incident occurred at Penn Park while the wedding party was taking photos.
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Guadalupe Cuevas, whose son is married to Mojarro’s daughter, said, “Margarita was a very good person and a very loving mom.” Cuevas herself did not attend the wedding, but heard reports from her son, who was standing very close to the tree at the time it collapsed.
“This was a great tragedy and my son is very traumatized,” Cuevas adds. “He’s taking it really hard because his kids were so close to the tree.”
Cuevas noted that Margarita shared an incredibly close bond with not just her children, but was always willing to help out with grandchildren. “Margarita’s daughters loved their mom so much, they were always calling her and she was always there to help with anything,” Cuevas noted. “She was a very supportive mother, friend and neighbor.”
A three-year-old was also critically injured in the incident, but a Cuervas revealed the child was on the road to recovery, despite being taken to a trauma center in critical condition.
The park in which the incident occurred is still closed, with Whittier’s Assistant City Manager saying, “An independent arborist will be at the park Monday checking that tree to see if they can determine the cause of failure.”
[H/T PEOPLE]
