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Man Hit By Central Park Tree Branch In Coma
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 30, 2009
Modified Jul 30, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 30, 2009
Modified Jul 30, 2009
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With his family keeping vigil at the hospital, 33-year-old man remains in a coma after being struck by a tree branch in Central Park yesterday morning. An uncle of Sasha Blair-Goldensohn, an Upper West Side resident and an engineer at Google, told the Daily News, "I'm not worried about Sasha because he has IQ to spare... He hasn't really woken up. He's young and healthy, we're hopeful."
Blair-Goldensohn has been unconscious since being hit by the 100-pound branch. He apparently went into cardiac arrest and was taken to NY Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Hospital. He is married, with a 2-year-old daughter and an infant son, and the Post says he's an "expert on developing search software that uses natural language" at the technology company. His Google colleagues were worried when he didn't arrive at work; one said, "Everyone is really upset and shocked. Sasha is a really great guy and very generous with his time -- and he's super smart." Blair-Goldensohn grew up in the city, attending Hunter College High School and went to Columbia for his Ph.D. (he attended Amherst for undergraduate). The News adds, "Doctors performed a procedure to relieve swelling and put him on a ventilator to help him breathe because his lung was damaged by the branch."
The tree branch that hit him was a branch from a pin oak tree; the Parks Department found the tree otherwise healthy—just that branch was "rotted out." A parkgoer told the Post, "Of all the things to happen to you in Central Park. I don't think anyone ever worries about getting attacked by a tree," while another said to the News, "You take your chances no matter where you go in the park. You can't live under a rock - everywhere in the park there is a tree!"
Photograph of Central Park yesterday by MyUpperWest
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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