TITUSVILLE - A woman was crushed to death Tuesday when a 40-foot magnolia tree fell on her as she jogged in a residential neighborhood.
No one knew Amber Farrell, 27, was struck by the tree until city workers saw her body as they were starting to remove the debris from the street, said Todd Hutchinson, a Titusville police spokesman. Farrell's husband had reported her missing when she didn't return from her morning jog.
The woman's body was found pinned under the 2-foot-wide trunk on the side of the street, about 25 feet from where the tree had been growing in a front yard. It appeared the tree struck Farrell from behind and she didn't see it falling, Hutchinson said.
"There was no indication that the tree had any decay, but apparently the root was decayed," Hutchinson said. "The tree looked fine."
The tree's owner, Hugh Brown, told police he hadn't known of any problem with it. "This is just totally beyond me," Brown said.
Farrell worked at a hair salon and had a 6-year-old daughter.
Patient safety at hospitals to be studied by state
MIAMI - State health officials are launching two studies of patient safety at Florida hospitals in an effort to reduce medical errors and malpractice premiums and claims.
The studies announced Tuesday were required by the medical malpractice law enacted this year that put limits on some types of lawsuit losses. The Center for Patient Safety will coordinate the studies with help from Florida universities. The researchers will examine patient safety practices at 50 to 70 hospitals, officials said. They will also hold meetings across the state to get public comment.
The studies start this week, and researchers will produce a report on their findings before the next legislative session, said Jeff Gregg of the Agency for Health Care Administration.
Universities board adds TECO official from Tampa
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush has appointed two women to the Florida Board of Governors, the year-old panel that oversees the state's 11 public universities.
Sheila M. McDevitt, 56, of Tampa, the senior vice president and general counsel of TECO Energy Inc., will serve until 2010.
Margaret L. "Lynn" Pappas, 52, of Jacksonville, a real estate attorney, will serve until 2005.
