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| Erena Wilson Kew Gardens death: Branch fall 'an accident' | Erena Wilson Kew Gardens death: Branch fall 'an accident' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The death of a woman who was fatally injured when a large branch fell on her at Kew Gardens, south-west London, was an accident, an inquest jury has found. | The death of a woman who was fatally injured when a large branch fell on her at Kew Gardens, south-west London, was an accident, an inquest jury has found. |
| Erena Wilson, 31, from Hanwell, west London, was walking through the Royal Botanical Gardens when the branch crashed down on her in September 2012. | Erena Wilson, 31, from Hanwell, west London, was walking through the Royal Botanical Gardens when the branch crashed down on her in September 2012. |
| The accounts manager was attending a three-year-old's birthday party when the 'freak accident' took place, West London Coroner's Court heard. | |
| Ms Wilson died from head injuries. | Ms Wilson died from head injuries. |
| 'Insufficient evidence' | |
| Returning a conclusion of accidental death, the foreman said the jury found "there is insufficient evidence to establish the cause of the branch failure". | |
| The inquest heard it was pure "fluke" that Ms Wilson's friend Tess Marshall and her daughter Ruby, who was celebrating her birthday, were not hurt as they were all walking along a main path when a large Cedar of Lebanon branch came crashing down. | |
| During the inquest John McLinden QC, representing Ms Wilson's family, said it had been raining heavily hours before the incident, which could lead to "summer branch drop", particularly after long dry spells. | |
| Kew Gardens had failed to put up warning signs because it had deemed the risk as minimal, and the lawyer also questioned why trees were not fenced off. | |
| But Patrick Blakesley, a lawyer representing Kew, said the death was a "terrible freak accident". |