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A man who was killed when a tree fell on him in City Heights amid stormy conditions on Christmas Eve has been publicly identified by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Roberto Ruiz Salmeron, 61, of San Diego, was standing on a sidewalk near his home on the corner of Marlborough Avenue and Wightman Street when a branch broke away and fell on him, the M.E.’s Office stated.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Capt. Jason Shanley said Wednesday that police and fire personnel were able to pull him out from under the tree and provide medical aid, “but he succumbed to his injuries.”
The victim was pronounced dead at 11:14 a.m., according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
A GoFundMe page created on behalf of Ruiz Salmeron’s family states that he was walking to his car when he was fatally struck by a branch that was over 30 feet long.
“Our entire family is devastated, and the holidays won’t ever be the same without him. He definitely knew how to brighten the day with jokes and humor. We had gifts under the tree he won’t ever get to open,” according to the page, which identifies Ruiz Salmeron as “a loving father, husband, grandfather and a hardworking welder among many other things.”
The page can be viewed at www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-the-ruiz- family-after-tragic-loss.
The fatality happened amid high winds that Shanley said had contributed to other trees coming down around the city.
The storm, which was expected to abate this weekend, also brought heavy rainfall to the region and caused power outages that deprived electricity to as many as 10,000 customers across San Diego County stretching from Del Mar to Chula Vista.
— City News Service
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