Woman Killed by Falling Tree on Saucon Rail Trail

A visitor to the Saucon Rail Trail died in a seemingly freak accident Wednesday afternoon in Lower Saucon Township.

Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio said 61-year-old Robbin Mary Danko of Springfield Township, Bucks County, was “walking in the 1700 block of Valerie Lane (Saucon Rail Trail)” when she “was struck by a falling tree.”

The accident happened in the early afternoon and Danko was pronounced dead from blunt force injuries in the Emergency Department at St. Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill at 2:41 p.m., the coroner’s news release indicated.

It noted that the Lower Saucon Township Police Department is also investigating Danko’s death.

Saucon Rail Trail Oversight Commission chairman Eric Bartosz called the accident “tragic” and said situational awareness is always important along the heavily wooded trail, which stretches more than seven miles between Coopersburg and Hellertown.

“One safety tip I would tell anyone is to be extra mindful of your surroundings on windy days after a period of rain, as that’s when the root systems are more prone to be pulled up in high winds,” Bartosz said, noting that such conditions exist currently. The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for gusts of up to 50 mph for Northampton, Lehigh and Bucks counties through midnight tonight.

The Saucon Rail Trail is used by thousands of walkers, joggers and cyclists year-round. Opened in 2011, it connects to the Upper Bucks Rail Trail in Springfield Township, which stretches several miles south to near Quakertown.