Man seriously hurt after tree falls at Seattle dog park

SEATTLE — Part of Woodland Park near Seattle's Green Lake closed because a tree fell on a man on Monday.

Hospital officials tell KIRO 7 the man was seriously hurt and in intensive care. Officials reopened the park on Tuesday.

"He was saying 'ow, ow,'" said Michelle Larsen as she looked on, helplessly. "(He) was able to move his arms a little."

Larsen and several fellow dog walkers were inside Woodland Park's off-leash area at about noon.

"We heard the tree crack," Larsen said. "And I yelled 'run.' And we were standing in kind of a triangle and the tree fell in the middle. And me and my other friend were on the outside and we got hit by the branches. And Scott got hit square by the tree.

Several people sprang into action.

"And we all came running down," said Sundar Srinivasan, an eyewitness. "We tried to lift the tree up, but it was too heavy.  And somebody called the ambulance, 911. And they all came in five minutes."

"Bystanders asked him if he could like move his arms, his hands," said Jennifer Vurnett, another eyewitness.  "And he said he could feel his legs and everything."

Other dog walkers identified him as 53-year-old Scott Frostad.  They say he comes to Woodland Park every day, often takes professional photographs of other dogs and then posts them on line. He was transported to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition.

After he was hurt, Seattle Fire advised the Parks Department to close the dog park.

"This is the second tree apparently that came down this morning here in the dog park," said Seattle Fire Battalion Chief William Simpson. "So just in the abundance of caution, thought it would be prudent to shut down until the arborist can come out here and evaluate the rest of the trees in that park."

Michelle Larsen says she is still shaken by what happened to her and her friends.

"Yeah, yeah," she said.  "This is definitely very scary.  And I'll probably be using other dog parks."

We are told the park won't reopen until it is deemed safe.  That won't be until tomorrow at the earliest.

So the advice to anyone wanting to use this park is to stay out until it is opened again.

Cox Media Group