LESLIE (WVDN) – A Virginia woman and her daughter have died after being struck by a tree branch while on a walk in Leslie in Greenbrier County on July 3.
Amethyst Russell, 26, and Ariana Gerber, 3, both of Chesapeake, Va., died Sunday, July 3, while taking a walk along Slate Dump Hill Road in Leslie with family members. They were in town for a family reunion for the holiday weekend.
“I guess the tree had gotten broken in a previous storm or something, the limbs were just hanging there, and it finally decided to fall at the wrong time,” Russell’s mother Karen Russell told MetroNews in an interview on July 7.
Amethyst Russell tried to save her daughter, her mother said, telling the news station, “She heard a noise and tried to shove her daughter, but the tree branch was too huge.”
Russell and Gerber were rushed to Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, but it was too late.
“They said that their deaths were most likely instantaneous,” Karen Russell said.
The family is seeking donations to help pay for funeral expenses. Karen Russell is a disabled veteran who lives on a fixed income and said she wasn’t expecting to bury her daughter and granddaughter.
“We’ve got a little bit of money raised already, but with me being on a fixed income, it’s just really hard to come up with almost $12,000 for two funerals,” she said.
The tree that collapsed on July 3 killed Russell and Gerber instantly.
Funeral services for Russell and Gerber were held Saturday and Sunday at Simons-Coleman Funeral Home in Richwood.
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| Amethyst Russell and Ariana Gerber |
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| The tree that struck Russell and Gerber |
