A woman died Wednesday after a large branch fell off a century-old tree in Garfield Park in Southeast D.C., trapping her.

Sarah Noah, 35, was walking in the park with her husband and their dog when the wood began to crack. Witnesses to the incident told the Metropolitan Police Department that they heard multiple pops and cracks, leading people in the park to run away in all directions.

“It happened maybe in two, three seconds – less, even. It was very fast. We tried to help her, but unfortunately, we couldn’t. We couldn’t lift that. It’s so heavy. Maybe if we were, like, six people, all men. But we couldn’t lift that,” witness Nodar Shovnadze told WRC-TV.

Ms. Noah was declared dead at the scene at around 7:36 a.m. with no other victims found, D.C. Fire and EMS said in a post on X.

City officials say the tree, a 100-year-old swamp oak, was in good condition and was last pruned and inspected in 2022. The trees at the park are managed by the D.C. Department of Transportation (DDOT).

The tree has been removed since Wednesday’s incident.

“This is a healthy limb … attached to a healthy tree that abruptly, tragically, and suddenly failed this morning. It’s fully solid,” Earl Eutsler, the department’s associate director for urban forestry, told WTOP-FM. “I’ve worked for DDOT for nearly 21 years and have never seen something quite like this with one of the trees under our management.”

Local residents disagree.

In a letter sent to Mayor Muriel Bowser and several members of the D.C. Council on Wednesday, a group calling itself Garfield Park Friends and Neighbors said members had contacted officials about pruning issues with the tree in question as recently as April, according to WTTG-TV.

D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 6 Democrat, posted on X that Ms. Noah’s death was an “absolute horrific tragedy” and that he has “asked DDOT to conduct a review & assessment of all large trees in Garfield Park.”

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.