Molalla Pioneer

Tigard boy in critical condition after branch plummets 50 feet onto tent where he was sleeping

By Danielle Peterson
For the Pioneer

A 5-year-old Tigard boy was critically injured Thursday night when a tree limb fell on the tent that he was sleeping in at a rural Molalla campground.

Around 10:52 p.m., a several hundred pound cottonwood limb snapped from the trunk and plummeted about 50 feet onto the tent that Ethan Hansen and five other boys were sleeping in at Elks Park on South Mulino Road, approximately 1½ miles west of the Mulino Airport, Canby Fire District officials said.

Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch reported that Hansen’s father, Paul Hansen of Tigard, called 9-1-1.

Off-duty Aurora Fire Captain and paramedic Bobby Meyer and his wife Jeannette were camping at a nearby site when the limb fell.

“We heard it crack and then we heard a thud,” Bobby Meyer said.

“We saw people running to get help, so we drove over there.”

Meyer said the limb had been lifted off the boy by the time he arrived.

“It was a big branch, probably 200 hundred pounds and it came from pretty far up in the tree,” he said.

He said the five other boys didn’t appear to be injured and were out of the tent by the time he arrived. Hansen however, was unconscious and had a head injury, Meyer said.

“I didn’t have any equipment, but I was able to get vital signs and make sure his airways were cleared,” Meyer said.

Two Canby Fire District medic units and a fire engine responded to the call, as well as Molalla and Clackamas County police.

While Canby firefighters were en route they were informed that they boy was in critical condition. They made a rare request for a Life Flight to meet them at Mulino Airport approximately a mile east of the campground, Canby Fire Marshal Troy Buzalsky said.

Paramedics rushed the boy to Mulino Airport where he was taken by LifeFlight to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland.

Buzalsky said it is unclear why the branch fell. “Cottonwood trees are inherently known for having rotten branches so it’s not uncommon for one to break,” he said.

“This was a very freak and very tragic accident,” Buzalsky said. “I’d be a liar to say that it didn’t affect every single responder and by stander that was in the park at the time.”

There were several unofficial reports circulating at 3 p.m. Friday that the boy had died, however, Legacy Emanuel officials said Hansen was listed in critical condition as of 5 p.m.