Elaine Sime, 72, killed by bees at Templestowe park due to lax maintenance by Manningham Council

Manningham Council could have prevented a beloved grandma’s tragic death after she was stung by hundreds of bees, a coroner has found.

Manningham Council could have prevented the horrific death of a much-loved 72-year-old grandma, who was stung to death by a swarm of agitated bees while out on a morning walk, a coroner has found.

Elaine Sime, of Templestowe, was walking along the Ruffey Lake Park trail with her husband of 40 years, Stuart, in April 2020, when a tree branch fell on her and stopped her from escaping a swarm of angry bees.

She suffered “hundreds” of stings, according to paramedics who rushed to the scene.

The mother-of-two and grandmother-of-four died a day later at Royal Melbourne Hospital, after her system was overwhelmed by toxins from the bee stings.

Coroner Audrey Jamieson last week released a report into Ms Sime’s death, revealing the drastic lengths her husband and emergency services went to as they tried to save her on the day of the accident.

Elaine Sime died after being stung by hundreds of bees along the Ruffey Lake Park trail.

Mr Sime described the bees as making an “almighty roar” and said they swarmed around his phone as he desperately rang his son to get help.

Ms Sime could not stand and was “just groaning” as hundreds of bees stung her face.

Firefighters arrived on the scene and sprayed water to disperse the bees, but a paramedic told coronial investigators she had already suffered “hundreds of bee stings to face, head, torso and limbs” resulting in a “massive envenomation”.

The council does not treat bees as “pests” and at the time had only basic measures in place to monitor potentially dangerous trees on the land it controls.

According to the coronial findings, Ms Sime still had 15 bees in a cut on her forehead when she arrived at hospital, where scans also revealed she had a series of broken bones from the 20cm thick tree branch falling on her.

Ruffey Lake Park is popular in Templestowe.

Coroner Jamieson said if the council had proactively checked on the health of trees in the area, it would likely have detected the one which fell on Ms Sime was rotten, and her death may have been prevented.

“The evidence in this matter supports the view that … the possibility of the injuries suffered by Ms Sime could have been reduced and the fatal consequences obviated,” Coroner Jamieson said.

The council has since begun monitoring trees more closely, and now moves bees away from areas where they could pose a danger.

Ms Sime was survived by her husband, Stuart, sons Allister and Matthew, and grandchildren Tommy, Kate, Charlie and Jack.