Apparently, in this case, looking up, down and around wouldn't have made any difference! Wrong place at the wrong time.

DEEP releases name of camper killed by tree at Selden Neck

By Judy Benson

Publication: theday.com
Published 11/07/2011 12:00 AM
Updated 11/07/2011 02:53 PM

Lyme – The Old Lyme woman killed early Sunday at Selden Neck State Park had been camping overnight with five other people when a tree fell on her tent shortly after midnight.

Ruth Byrne, 53, was pronounced dead at the scene, an uninhabited 607-acre island in the Connecticut River accessible only by water. Her companion in the tent, Mark Benedict, 59, of Essex, was severely injured, said Peter Woodcock, chief of the Deep River Fire Department, which was the lead responder. Benedict was taken to shore in one of the four town fire boats that responded to the scene, then put on a Deep River ambulance waiting on shore that transported him to a landing site for LifeStar Helicopter. LifeStar then flew Benedict to Yale-New Haven Hospital.

This afternoon, Benedict was listed in critical condition, according to a Yale-New Haven Hospital spokeswoman.

Emergency crews from Essex, Old Saybrook, Chester and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also responded to the incident. Woodcock said one of the other campers telephoned for help after the tree fell, and the group lit a large fire near their campsite to help the emergency crews find them in the dark. The other four campers were ferried off the island after Byrne and Benedict were taken off, Woodcock said.

The park has been officially closed for camping since the regular end of the season Sept. 30. During the camping season, campers are required to obtain a permit and pay a camping fee. There are four primitive camping sites on the island, with outhouses, picnic tables and pit fireplaces.

DEEP Environmental Conservation Police Sgt. Ryan Healy said the group had camped on the island previously, and that the tree that fell did not appear to have been partially knocked down in the recent storms, but had been growing on an outcropping with no visible signs of weakness until it toppled.

"It was just a freak thing," he said.

DEEP is continuing to investigate the incident.