Civil Defence Force clearing a tree that fell on a car and injured a mother and son at Jalan Tuaran in Kota Kinabalu
KOTA KINABALU: A mother and son were injured when a tree fell on their car along the Tuaran road in Likas here at 7am Wednesday (Mar 18).
The 44-year-old woman suffered a knee injury while her five-year-old son sustained injury to his forehead in the incident, the Civil Defence Force said in a statement.
The mother and son were sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital I hospital after they were given initial treatment by Civil Defence personnel.
The force said that they received an emergency call regarding the incident at about 7.06am and on arrival found that the tree had fallen on two vehicles during the peak hour school traffic.
Responders removed the fallen tree and completed the operations by 7.50am.
Kota Kinabalu Warisan division information chief Samuel Wong urged Kota Kinabalu City Hall to step up efforts to improve the health of trees within the city as the latest incident occurred during good weather.
“The latest incident is alarming and City Hall must intensify its tree management efforts along Jalan Tuaran as many of the full-grown trees are notably large and aged," he said.
Pointing to a previous incident where a tree fell during heavy rain near a school along the same road, Wong said these events highlighted the potential dangers posed by neglected urban trees,
“Ensuring the safety of road users must be a priority. We urge City Hall to enhance its efforts to manage and maintain all large trees throughout the city adequately,” Wong said.
