Mum seriously injured, hit by falling tree branch at Mount Barker playground

A young single mother has recounted the horrific moment she and her daughter were hit by a falling tree branch at playground, breaking her leg “like a twig”.

Anna Frances-Wood in the RAH after being hit by a falling tree branch at Keith Stephenson Park in Mount Barker. Picture: Supplied

A young single mother hit by a falling branch that also struck her four-year-old daughter at a popular Hills playground says she may never walk properly again after the horrifying incident.

And she says she’s overwhelmed by the community response - both in the immediate aftermath and the days following.

Anna Frances-Wood, 29, was at Keith Stephenson Park in Mount Barker on Sunday when the large branch fell from about 10m above and struck her, snapping her leg “like a twig”.

Two prongs on the huge branch, which she estimated was between 15-30cm in diameter, miraculously fell either side of her daughter Juniper, 4, who was covered in leaves. It also hit a nearby father and his child running to help.

She now faces months of painful recovery and she relearns to walk, with friends setting up a fundraiser to help her pay for physio and equipment.

Arborists have checked the tree and all others surrounding the playground, Mount Barker Council said.

One other branch has fallen at the park in the past week. The tree has been deemed low risk and will not be felled.

Ms Frances-Wood first heard a cracking noise and assumed it must be something else – then looked up.

“I thought, how funny, this other thing sounds so much like a branch breaking,” Ms Frances-Wood said.

The branch that fell from a tree and hit Anna Frances-Wood and her four-year-old daughter in Mount Barker's Keith Stephenson Park on Sunday.

“Then I looked up – and the branch was swinging down.

“It felt like I was stuck in glue – I was two metres from my daughter who was on a green turtle and tried to move towards her. Another parent and his child were running towards Juniper at the same time, and I was trying to mentally communicate with him, I think he saw it – ‘my daughter, green turtle, branch coming, get her’ – all of this in a couple of seconds.

“None of us got to her in time, the branch landed on her and covered her … it was just an absolute miracle that these two large branches landed either side of her.

“The part that landed on me just snapped my leg like a toothpick, it was an instantaneous crack.

“The other dad, he must have had some crazy superhuman strength because he lifted this whole branch up off us – and this was a big branch, several metres long, almost a tree itself.”

Ms Frances-Wood said people at the playground – which has recently reopened with a $1.3m revamp into a nature-playspace – began running towards her.

But all she could think of was Juniper.

Anna Frances-Wood’s leg after it was broken in three places by the falling tree branch. Picture: Supplied

Anna Frances-Wood with her daughter Juniper a few days ago. Picture: Supplied

“I didn’t know if she was OK or not, and people were running towards me because my leg was bent like a banana,” she said.

“But I just pointed and screamed, ‘get to my daughter’, and they immediately went to her, not me. I had no idea what state she was in.

“All she had was a scratch on her arm – although she will be traumatised by the incident.

“But the fact she’s not dead is incredible – and me too, and the other dad and his child.

“If this branch had hit any of us on the head, we wouldn’t be here.”

She’s been in contact with the other father and his wife, to express her gratitude and fear for them.

“He was standing there in shock for 20 minutes, he didn’t move. I said to him, ‘this must have been scary for you’, and all he said was, ‘yeah’. His son was playing on that green turtle 60 seconds before.”

Ms Frances-Wood lay on the bark chips for an hour in pain waiting for an ambulance, surrounded by people helping her and Juniper through their pain and fear.

“People stood in front of the sun because I was getting sunburnt – I was in a lot of pain, my leg was bent up into the sky,” she said.

A nurse nearby rushed to help, while the wife of the man hit by the branch sat with her, and the midwife “named Bec” talked her through the pain for about 40 minutes.

“She was amazing, just kept me talking, even when I couldn’t because I was in too much pain, she just talked about what was happening – ‘I’m seeing a car in the carpark, I can see children there playing’. She was great.”

Juniper during her birthday trip earlier this month at Monarto. Picture: Supplied

Anna Frances-Wood with her daughter Juniper.

Through the entire wait, Juniper sat silent, too scared to go near her mother – as other parents cared for her.

“She shut down and got silent, but a lot of amazing parents and mums kept talking to her and playing with her, chatting in a childlike way to help keep her less focused on the situation.

“But she wouldn’t come anywhere near me – wouldn’t give me a hug. And she still feels quite afraid of coming near me.”

Ms Frances-Wood was rushed into surgery with a rare, complex fracture in her knee, which required three metal rods permanently fixed inside her leg plus knee reconstruction.

She now faces months of physio and painful rehabilitation – all while raising Juniper alone. Her father is deaf and vision-impaired, while her mother is not in the picture.

“I had my first physio session yesterday, which was very emotional – just move out of bed, on to the walking frame. That’s my goal.

“My leg is going to be a really long healing process. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to use it again properly.

“Sixty per cent of have a cane and never achieve full rotation of the knee again. It’s going to be really hard, it’s a long journey.

“Especially being a single mum – and I can’t drive for three months minimum.”

Anna Frances-Wood with friends Peta Philippou and Jamon Barns in hospital. Picture: Supplied

A spokesman for Mount Barker Council said they had reached out to Ms Frances-Wood “to see what support services can be provided as a resident of the district”.

The council’s general manager infrastructure Phil Burton said arborists have been at the site this week undertaking a thorough inspection and pruning of all trees within the fenced playground.

“Council has followed our safety process to make sure the particular tree isn’t likely to drop any more branches,” Mr Burton said.

”Summer tree branch drop is a known occurrence, influenced by weather changes, prolonged drought, heat, and intense rainfall.”

“Predicting and preventing every case of falling branches is challenging but we do prioritise areas of heavy public use, particularly by children.”

Council has indemnity under the Local Government Act, a spokesman said. Staff inspect the playground and surrounds every week.

Ms Frances-Wood said she was overwhelmed by the community’s response.

“I’ve had lots of people saying they’ll drop my daughter at daycare and kindy,” she said.

“Honestly, I just need physical support – the GoFundMe is to help pay for equipment and physio.

“Anything like hot meals, someone to clean the house, to play with my daughter.

Ms Frances-Wood also pleaded for understanding and people to stop arguing about the incident.

“I’m sick of people arguing about the branch and the fault, who cares? This is my life, I don’t want to see people fighting over it, I just want help.”

You can help support Ms Frances-Wood here.