A mother in Pennsylvania tragically lost her life after being struck by falling tree branches while attending her daughter’s softball event.
On the evening of Wednesday, July 23, 49-year-old Gendie Miller was at Renziehausen Park in McKeesport with her husband of 17 years, Ben Miller, watching their 16-year-old daughter, Marlee, participate in the Western Pa. College Showcase softball camp, according to WTAE.
A GoFundMe page created by a family friend and coach from Marlee’s Nitro Fastpitch travel softball team described the incident as a “terrible tragedy,” confirming Gendie’s death in what it called a “freak accident.”
The post explained that the Millers had chosen to sit beneath a large tree to escape the 90-degree heat while Marlee performed drills in front of college scouts. Without warning, the tree began to crack and a large branch fell, striking Gendie in the head and trapping her beneath it.
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Emergency responders arrived and transported her by ambulance to Forbes Hospital Trauma Center in Monroeville. However, before a decision could be made to transfer her to another facility, she stopped breathing and was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Ben Miller told WTAE that Gendie was a devoted mother who never missed a practice or game, whether for high school or travel ball. He also noted that the branches that struck her were approximately 10 to 12 inches thick.
“I said to my wife, ‘Let’s go,’” Ben recalled. “I jumped out of my chair, felt a small branch graze my leg. I turned back to look at her, and she was face down under large branches and limbs.”
“The weight and impact were devastating,” he said. “I can tell you that she didn’t die from her heart—because her heart was too big.”
Ben described Gendie as someone who would “give you the shirt off her back,” and said he was still in shock over the loss. “It obviously hasn’t hit me the worst—nor my daughter. She’s being very strong. And I’m just as worried about her as she is about me.”
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko shared condolences in a statement the next day, calling the event a heartbreaking tragedy: “An evening that started like any other, with families and friends gathered in the park for a game, has ended in tragedy after this horrible accident,” he told WTAE.
As of Monday, July 28, the GoFundMe campaign had raised more than $48,000 to support the Miller family.
The McKeesport Police Department and the Mayor’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. PEOPLE also reached out to fundraiser organizer Michael Mull for a tribute from the family.
