The shattered limb of the branch. (Catherine Nance)
A 6-month-old baby girl was killed and her mom was injured this afternoon when a tree branch cracked off and fell onto the pair at the Central Park Zoo, police said.
The horrifying accident around 1:30 p.m. occurred near the Delacorte Clock — just as the baby’s father was getting ready to snap a picture of his 33-year-old wife and family, a police detective said.
The baby, identified as Gianna Ricciutti, was rushed to Cornell Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival, police said. Her mom remained hospitalized in stable condition.
One park source estimated that the tree was between 30 and 50 years old.
“We heard a large thump and turned around and saw a large branch had fallen on a woman,” said Perry Perry Herson, 40, of Roslyn, LI.
“The baby fell out of her arms,” his 30-year-old wife Michelle added. “The mother was covered in blood. The baby wasn’t moving or crying.”
A nurse and another bystander performed CPR.