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Large Tree Branch Falls On Woman In Central Park

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A walk through Central Park turned into quite a scare for one woman. A large tree branch came crashing down on top of her.

She was hospitalized Tuesday night in serious condition, CBS 2's Derricke Dennis reported.

Police were guarding the scene of yet another tree accident in the park. A branch 3 inches in diameter and full of leaves fell on a 59-year-old woman walking on a path with her husband and son, leaving visitors to wonder if the park's towering trees are safe.

"I mean if they have problems with trees falling on people, that's probably a sign that they should be pruned more often," said Upper West Side resident Catherine Redkin.

There have been several accidents from fallen limbs over the years. In June 2010, a 6-month-old girl was killed in her mother's arms by a falling branch near the Central Park Zoo.

Earlier that year in February a 46-year-old restaurant worker was also killed from a falling branch. And in 2009, 33-year-old Sasha Blair Goldensohn suffered a brain and spinal cord injury after a rotten branch fell on him.

"Certainly the public has concerns, and they should have concerns," Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates.

Croft said he blames the city for not having a better schedule of pruning, and inspection of overgrown, or rotten trees in the park.

"It's just, it should be happening, whether it's an act of God or these trees are dead, dying or diseased, this is a serious issue," Croft said.

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