Tragedy kills NJ grandfather and infant in backyard

VERONA — A community is mourning a man and his infant grandson, both killed by an uprooted tree on Monday evening in Essex County.

The incident was reported just after 7 p.m., at a home in Verona along East Lincoln Street and West Lincoln Street.

UPDATE: More details revealed in backyard death of grandfather, child

A 61-year-old man and 6-month-old baby were in the backyard and were hit by the tree as it fell, according to Verona police, who responded to the scene along with fire and rescue squad members.

"The Verona Police, Fire and Rescue Squad’s thoughts are focused on the family during this difficult and unfathomable tragic time. Please keep this family in your prayers," police said in a statement Monday night.

While rare, tree deaths do happen in NJ

Deaths from falling trees or tree limbs, while rare, have been reported in NJ in recent years.
A man in Hillsborough died in 2022 after a tree he was helping to cut down on his property fell on top of him.

In Sussex County, a falling tree landed on a delivery truck, killing a Hackettstown woman.

In August 2020, the driver of a pickup truck was killed by a falling tree on a Hunterdon County road.

One man was killed and several people hurt in Passaic, when lightning struck a tree limb and sent it crashing onto a tent in a backyard in May 2017.

This past September in Monmouth County, one person was hurt when a tree fell during a rainstorm onto a family's home in Manalapan, CBS New York reported.

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