4-Year-Old Nytalia Ashes Dies In Mankato After Tree Branch Falls On Tent During Overnight Storms
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Officials in Mankato say a 4-year-old girl died Friday morning after a tree branch fell on the tent she was in during overnight storms.
According to city officials, the incident happened around 2:30 a.m. in Land of Memories Park, located on 409 Amos Owen Lane. Officers responded to the report of a branch falling on an occupied tent.
There, officers found the girl, identified as Nytalia Ashes from Sioux Fallx, with life-threatening injuries and began life-saving measures. Ashes was taken to a local hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
There were other family members inside the tent at the time of the incident -- they were unharmed.
The incident occurred at the site of the 49th annual Mahkato Wacipi, a pow wow that honors the 38 Dakota men who were lynched in Mankato in 1862.
There is a special celebration honoring her life planned at the pow wow on Saturday night.
The incident happened amid storms that featured high wind gusts, resulting in damage in many parts of the metro and southern Minnesota, and western Wisconsin.
The same storm generated a 61 mph wind gust at 2:15 a.m. in New Ulm. A 10- to 12-inch diameter branch was knocked down in New Ulm at around the same time.
