Woman killed by falling tree during B.C. windstorm

A woman was killed in Surrey, B.C., when she was struck by a falling tree on Dec. 15, 2024.

A woman died after being hit by a falling tree in the driveway of her Metro Vancouver home when a powerful windstorm hit through B.C.’s South Coast Saturday.

Asst. Chief Greg McRobbie, with the Surrey Fire Service, says crews were called around 10 a.m. for reports of a “traumatic injury” to a woman at a home in the 17300 block of 29th Avenue.

“When they arrived, they found a 65-year-old female who was unresponsive, not breathing and without a pulse in the driveway,” McRobbie told CTV News on Sunday.

Paramedics attempted life-saving measures but the woman was pronounced deceased at the scene. According to McRobbie, witnesses told first responders they saw a “very large branch” from a tree fall from an approximate height of 30 feet, before striking the woman.

McRobbie says the woman’s death was a “tragic accident” that will have a devastating impact on the woman’s family and loved ones.

“It’s incredibly hard, he said. “At the end of the day, our thoughts are with everyone involved.”

The Surrey Police Service confirmed officers were deployed and worked with victim services to connect people impacted with supports.

Saturday’s windstorm brought gusts of over 100 km/h to some parts of the South Coast. It caused a landslide near Lions Bay, where two residents of one home remained unaccounted for as of Sunday afternoon.