Con Ed under fire after tree falls on young trick-or-treater in New Rochelle

Tree falls on trick-or-treater in New Rochelle
Photo credit Samantha Liebman

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Con Edison is under fire after a tree fell on child who was out trick-or-treating in New Rochelle on Halloween.

The tree came crashing down Thursday night and pinned a 9-year-old girl who was dressed as a witch.

The girl had just left a home when the tree came crashing down on her, pinning her underneath. 

"We heard what sounded like - my husband thought it was a small plane that went down. I thought it was two cars that crashed. We jumped," a homeowner named Maggie told 1010 WINS' Samatha Liebman. 

Maggie had just given the girl candy and said she and her husband have been complaining to the city about the tree for years, Liebman reported.

A man held and comforted the girl until help came.

The city had issued a permit to remove the tree in August and residents were notified that it would be coming down. However, Con Ed hadn't taken it down, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.

The girl suffered several broken bones and was treated at Westchester Medical Center, Jones reported. 

“Our hearts go out to the young girl and her family," Con Ed said in a statement. "We are in contact with officials of the City of New Rochelle to review the matter.”

New Rochelle City Manager Chuck Strome blasted Con Ed for not addressing the problem tree."First and most importantly, we send our heartfelt concern to the injured child and her family, and to all the families in the area who were impacted by last night's tragic incident," Strome said in a statement. "When a tree is in close proximity to electrical wires, the City cannot take any action until Con Edison first removes the top of the tree. Since September, the City has been in regular contact with Con Edison to repeatedly urge the utility to address the tree at 4 Maywood, and this work received all requisite City permits months ago. New Rochelle's Department of Public Works reiterated this request as recently as yesterday. Con Edison's catastrophic failure to address these conditions in a timely fashion should lead to a fundamental re-evaluation of the utility's entire process for ensuring safety around trees in urgent need of maintenance."

Thursday night's strong winds left downed trees and thousands of power outages in its wake -- most of them in north and central New Jersey.

Long Island, Orange, Rockland and Westchester County residents were also left in the dark.

Officials were also looking into whether a tornado touched down in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly told 1010 WINS it appears to be straight line wind damage.

More than 200,000 customers were without power upstate state after a night of heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 70 mph.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo told Spectrum News on Friday that several hundred people were being evacuated in scattered areas around the state because of high waters.

Police in the central New York village of Dolgeville used a boat to rescue people from a home. 

Friday's forecast is windy and chilly with early clouds giving way to some sun. High 56, but AccuWeather RealFeel temps will stay in the 40s.

For Saturday, the sun will mix with patchy clouds for a chilly day with a high of 53.

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