Szczecin. A cut branch crushed children, the caregivers were charged

The District Prosecutor's Office in Gryfino has filed an indictment against two caregivers who went on a trip to the forest with a group of preschoolers on March 29, 2024. During the trip, a cut branch crushed five children. The women were charged with exposing themselves to direct danger of loss of life or serious bodily harm. The caregivers face between three months and five years in prison.

SEE ALSO: A cut tree trunk crushed a group of preschoolers. Information about the children's condition

On March 29, 2024, caregivers and children went on a trip to the forest in the Klęskowo forest district. At one point, five children sat on a cut tree trunk, which rolled down the hill with the children on it. The tree trunk that crushed the children was three meters long.

Senior Captain Franciszek Goliński, spokesman for the City Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Szczecin, said that two children were taken out from under the tree by the participants of the incident. – The third child had a crushed leg and the firefighters helped to get him out – he added.

The spokeswoman for the Provincial Emergency Medical Service, Natalia Dorochowicz, reported that a total of six people were injured, including five children. – A four-year-old with head, lower limb and pelvic injuries, three four-year-olds with lower limb injuries and a woman with a back injury – she listed. One of the children and the kindergarten teacher did not require hospitalization.

The Gryfino Forest District Chief Forester Arkadiusz Palen said that the tree had been cut down a year earlier. – The trunk was moved away from the tourist trail. Children probably climbed it and then it fell – he explained. He noted that the trunk was well secured. – It was left in the forest to decompose naturally – he added.