NHS worker killed by tree branch while on video call to sister in Oxfordshire
A young NHS worker from Theale, Berkshire, was killed when an 18ft branch from a rotten tree fell on her, a coroner heard.
Shannon Owen, 22, had been talking on her mobile phone to her sister Georgia when the branch fell and hit her in the chest. The pair had been speaking over video call and her sister saw the phone knocked out of her hand.
An inquest at Oxford Coroners’ Court heard that Miss Owen had gone on a walk with her best friend and her brother near Whitchurch on Thames, South Oxfordshire, on March 11 2023. The three of them had left the path to use a rope swing tied around a tree.
In a statement read out to the court, Georgia wrote: “Shannon was not just my older sister but she was also my best friend...
“I FaceTimed her at 3.41pm and whilst speaking to her on the phone she was struck by the tree. It all happened so quickly. All I saw was her phone rolling down the hill, I was so, so confused.”
The Coroner heard that a huge bough, from the tree next to the one with the rope swing, had snapped off and hit Miss Owen. She died at the scene.
The Oxfordshire senior coroner, Darren Salter, recorded a verdict of accidental death.
He said: “The loss of Shannon in these circumstances is sad, and almost unbelievable.
"A large tree trunk fell just at a time where someone is underneath it. Some people may refer to this as a freak accident.
“There is no third party involvement and there were no suspicious circumstances. This is just so, so unfortunate that Shannon was there when this happened. The coroner's conclusion should be one of accident.”
Lisa Owen, Shannon’s mother, told the inquest that she wanted the woodland fenced off.
She said: “To prevent anyone else going through this heartache and suffering, I really do believe that there should be fencing around the woodland.”
However, in a statement to the coroner, the owner said: “It is not practical or desirable to put in a fence around the woodland.
"It’s expensive and will be undermined anyway so will be pointless. I have purchased 24 private woodland signs saying ‘keep out’ and ‘do not enter’ which have been placed at 100m intervals either side of the footpath.”
He confirmed that the rotten tree had since been cut down.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...