A San Diego family mourns after a deadly storm toppled a tree branch, killing a grandfather on Christmas Eve.
SAN DIEGO — A powerful winter storm turned deadly Wednesday morning in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego, where a large tree branch fell and killed a man just outside his home.
San Diego Fire-Rescue says the incident happened shortly after 11 a.m. near the intersection of Marlborough Avenue and Wightman Street. The man was standing on the corner when part of a large tree suddenly split off and fell on him.
Battalion Chief Craig Newell with San Diego Fire-Rescue said the falling branch struck the man and knocked him unconscious.
“He had gone into cardiac arrest by the time our crews arrived,” Newell said. “They did everything they could, but unfortunately the tree was too heavy.”
The chief became emotional while recounting the rescue effort, describing the tragic outcome despite the responders’ best efforts.
The man’s family is now grieving and demanding answers. His daughter-in-law, who asked not to be identified on camera, said the family is struggling to process the loss on what should have been a joyful time of year.
“How do you go home on Christmas Eve and tell your kids that their grandpa is dead?” she said. “I still can’t find the words.”
She described the victim as Roberto Luis, an elderly and loving man who was always helping his family.
“I want him to be remembered as Roberto Luis — an elderly, loving man,” she said. “He was always helping his family.”
But alongside her grief, she expressed anger, saying the family had repeatedly raised concerns about the tree with the city.
“We’ve been complaining to the city about this tree for more than five years, and nothing was ever done,” she said. “I feel like San Diego failed.”
The family believes the tragedy could have been prevented and hopes sharing their story will lead to accountability and change.
“If he were here, he would want people to know this is not okay,” she said. “That could have been his niece, his granddaughter, or anybody else’s family member.”
In a statement to CBS 8, the city said:
“Our thoughts are with the family, friends, neighbors and first responders impacted by this sudden loss of life. City crews have performed maintenance on this specific tree-in-question in January 2024 as a proactive measure to trim branches, and the tree presented no concerns or defects at that time. The City doesn’t have a record of any maintenance requests for this specific tree.”