Woman Killed By Falling Tree Branch At Softball Camp In McKeesport

McKEESPORT, PA — A Ligonier woman died Wednesday after she was struck by a fallen tree branch at a softball camp in McKeesport, according to her family.

Gendie and Bill Miller were watching their daughter perform drills at the Western PA College Showcase softball camp, a recruiting event in Renziehausen Park, when they decided to sit under a large shade tree, family friend Michael Mull wrote on GoFundMe.

"Suddenly, the tree started to make cracking noises and a very large branch fell, striking Gendie in the head, knocking her unconscious to the ground and entrapping her under the tree," Mull said.

In an interview with WTAE, Bill Miller recalled seeing multiple branches fall on his wife, some 10 to 12 inches thick. He said bystanders rushed to help move the branches off Gendie.

First responders arrived and rushed her in an ambulance to Forbes Hospital Trauma Center in Monroeville. Before they arrived, Gendie stopped breathing and was pronounced dead.

"To be so traumatic, and with the heavy load of the type of branch and limb, it was devastating. And I can tell you that she didn't die from her heart, because her heart's too big,” Bill Miller told WTAE.

In a statement sent to TribLive.com, Sheri Burdett, District 9 USA Softball of Pennsylvania commissioner, said the organization was deeply saddened by Gendie's death.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Miller family during this incredibly difficult time. At this moment, our sole focus is on supporting them in any way we can," she said.

McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko also released a statement.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time," he said. "An evening that started like any other, with families and friends gathered in the park for a game, has ended in tragedy after this horrible accident."

Mull, a softball coach, started a GoFundMe fundraiser for Gendie's family to help with medical bills and lost wages.

"Bill and Marlee could use all the help they can get," he wrote. "Although it doesn’t bring back their loved one, it takes a little bit of the burden off of coming up with funds they don’t have right now for something so sudden and unexpected."