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With his family keeping vigil at the hospital, 33-year-old man remains in a coma after being struck by a tree branch in Central Park yesterday morning. An uncle of Sasha Blair-Goldensohn, an Upper West Side resident and an engineer at Google, told the Daily News, "I'm not worried about Sasha because he has IQ to spare... He hasn't really woken up. He's young and healthy, we're hopeful."
Blair-Goldensohn has been unconscious since being hit by the 100-pound branch. He apparently went into cardiac arrest and was taken to NY Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Hospital. He is married, with a 2-year-old daughter and an infant son, and the Post says he's an "expert on developing search software that uses natural language" at the technology company. His Google colleagues were worried when he didn't arrive at work; one said, "Everyone is really upset and shocked. Sasha is a really great guy and very generous with his time -- and he's super smart." Blair-Goldensohn grew up in the city, attending Hunter College High School and went to Columbia for his Ph.D. (he attended Amherst for undergraduate). The News adds, "Doctors performed a procedure to relieve swelling and put him on a ventilator to help him breathe because his lung was damaged by the branch."
The tree branch that hit him was a branch from a pin oak tree; the Parks Department found the tree otherwise healthy—just that branch was "rotted out." A parkgoer told the Post, "Of all the things to happen to you in Central Park. I don't think anyone ever worries about getting attacked by a tree," while another said to the News, "You take your chances no matter where you go in the park. You can't live under a rock - everywhere in the park there is a tree!"
Photograph of Central Park yesterday by MyUpperWest
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That is a disappointing stroke of bad luck. Hope he awakes from his coma soon.
That is a disappointing stroke of bad luck.
You do seem to have a talent for understatement. To me, missing the subway on the way to work is a disappointing stroke of bad luck. This accident is a lot worse than that.
I pray he recovers.
Wow. That's some bad luck. Life's unfair most of the time, huh?
ouch, sorry dude.
Jen - I always watch myself going to the "par"
What is copy? What is paste?
What is love?
Baby don't hurt me no more.
- Don't walk under buildings; something may fall on you.
- Don't walk on subway grates; you may fall in.
- Don't walk on metal plates; you may get electrocuted.
- Don't walk under trees; a branch may fall on you.
Just added to a list of things I have to be aware of, while I am walking around, minding my own business, in this great city. *Le sigh*
I hope he recovers from his coma soon.
The real story here is that a fellow New Yorker is seriously hurt and now is in a coma by this random event. Does it matter that he's smart, has a big IQ and a PH.D? Would we feel less sorry for someone without a college degree? I certainly hope not.
If he wasn't a ph.d the article would say he was a really good guy and loved baseball or something like that. And we would all feel just as sorry. Anyway, I hope he recovers.
He might not be curing cancer, but I always find it worthwhile to mention people's intellectual prowess, which in this case seems fairly exceptional.
As yytttt said, if he was homeless and going for a jog, then that would have been written instead.
It's natural to feel more sorry / afraid to lose someone who offers a lot to the pack than you would with someone who is more likely to take. Animal Kingdom!!
Wow, that flat sucks. When I first heard this, I thought "come on -- hit by a branch?" But that must have been one hell of a big branch to do that kind of damage.
A 100 lb branch is no joke.
Actually, the problem is that the Central Park Conservancy, which manages the park, employs tree experts to care for and trim the trees. Trees in a urban setting are supposed to be inspected for rotted or damaged limbs and the limbs that are dangerous are supposed to be removed before this happens. It's a difficult job, but not impossible for an expert. I wonder if there have been any cost cutting measures in that department?
Jen, thanks for posting a picture of the victim. It has lead to many more heartfelt comments and less d!cks trying to make the funniest joke.
Best of luck to Sasha and his family.
Yeah, the comments in the last thread were horrifyingly insensitive.
This is a mostly unmoderated online comment section. Do you expect any better from a bunch of would-be class clowns?
I'm keeping him in my thoughts. what a cute baby he has. he needs to be their for them.
The tree was "healthy" but "that branch had rotted out"? So the tree really wasn't healthy. I hope this awful incident spurs more inspections of trees along walkways. You don't go to the park to get hit on the head.
you think he could sue?
jeez. this guy working his butt off his whole life and gets struck by a falling branch. meanwhile you have people living as parasites in this city and nothing happens to them. how shity can life be? why God, WHY!!!
I ran track with him back in HS and he was probably the nicest guy on the team (though if you knew the guys on the team...) A great guy that everyone liked and a pretty good runner too. My thoughts and well wishes go out to him and his family.