The branch that killed a man on a Chisinau sidewalk Wednesday fell from a height of about 20 meters after snapping from a towering 30-meter poplar, IPN learned from Vadim Popușoi, jurist at the Green Areas municipal service.
A team of arborists inspected the tree this morning and found it to be overall healthy. Located in between two apartment blocks, the tree is exposed to strong currents of air, and this might explain the branch failure.
The Green Areas carried out a trimming effort in that neighborhood recently, but the tree in question didn’t require any intervention, which, the jurist suggests, is proof that the tree was otherwise healthy. On Monday, additional expert findings will be available about the circumstances of the fatal accident.
Furthermore, Vadim Popușoi claims that tree is not even under the Green Areas’ jurisdiction, guessing that it could be part of the adjoining homeowners’ association, and therefore the municipal service cannot be held legally accountable. This was confirmed by Chisinau Police spokesperson Natalia Stati. She added that a decision on whether to open a criminal investigation will be taken after the arborists complete their own inquiry.
