ATLANTA, Ga. — A ten-year-old lady is lifeless and two members of the family are hospitalized after an enormous tree collapsed onto their dwelling in Atlanta’s Mozley Park neighborhood early Saturday morning.
Atlanta Fireplace Rescue crews have been referred to as to the 1400 block of Mims Road SW round 3:00 a.m., the place they found a big tree had snapped and crushed a good portion of the residence. Inside, they discovered A’erica Dixon, a fourth-grade pupil at KIPP WAYS Academy, fatally injured by the affect. She was pronounced lifeless on the scene.
Her mom and grandmother have been additionally inside the house and sustained accidents. Each have been transported to Grady Memorial Hospital by ambulance and are anticipated to outlive.
“It is a unhappy event. It’s a tragedy,” mentioned Anaré Holmes, spokesperson for Atlanta Fireplace Rescue. “There’s no different approach to say it. Our hearts are with the household.”
Dixon’s 14-year-old sister, Akiylah Dixon, recounted the terrifying second to reporters:
“The home simply began shaking. All the pieces simply crashed, and I simply see my mama operating by the hallway to get to my grandma,” she mentioned, breaking down. “That wasn’t simply my little sister. That was my greatest pal.”
Emergency crews, together with firefighters, Atlanta police, and the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Workplace, remained on-site for a number of hours as public works workers labored to chop and take away the fallen tree. The American Crimson Cross and native help companies are helping the displaced household.
In a publish on social media, Governor Brian Kemp expressed condolences, saying,
“We’re saddened by the tragic passing of this younger lady on account of final night time’s storms. We ask that every one Georgians be a part of us in praying for her family members throughout this troublesome time.”
Residents say the tree had lengthy been a priority. In accordance with neighbors, a part of the identical tree cut up and fell in August 2024, damaging a automobile and energy strains. After that incident, they are saying, the remaining part of the tree appeared hole and dangerously overhanging the house. Although the town had just lately marked bushes on the adjoining property for removing, the tree chargeable for Saturday’s collapse had not but been addressed.
Neighborhood members are actually demanding solutions and motion, as a household mourns the loss of a kid taken far too quickly.
