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Canton girl, 6, killed when tree limb falls during snowstorm

Kaleigh Kenyon.Image courtesy of Kenyon family

A 6-year-old girl died after being struck by a falling tree limb while playing in her backyard in Canton Friday as the season’s first powerful winter snowstorm ripped through the state, causing power outages, spin-outs, and travel delays.

Kaleigh Kenyon was playing in her yard on Indian Lane when she was hit by a large branch that fell from a height of about 30 feet just before 2 p.m., according to authorities. Trees were down throughout the town as a result of the snow that blanketed the area, including up to a foot in some places.

Canton police said in a statement that the girl was pinned under the tree and later extricated, and a neighbor performed CPR until rescuers arrived. Kenyon was then rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton, and police confirmed at 8:45 p.m. that she had been pronounced dead.

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After the accident, police took to Twitter and asked residents, especially children, to remain indoors during the storm.

“Numerous trees and branches are coming down creating an extremely dangerous situation,” the Canton Police Department tweeted.

Neighbors were gathered outside of Kenyon’s house Friday night, but they declined to talk about the tragedy. An uncle entering the home said, “I can’t believe this happened.”

Other communities that either declared emergencies or asked residents to stay inside included Gloucester, which instituted a parking ban to take effect from midnight Saturday until 7 a.m., and Arlington, where police warned on Twitter, “Accidents, downed wires & trees and very slippery conditions. Please stay at home if you can.”

The snow began to taper off in the Boston area at about 5 p.m., and reported totals in Massachusetts at approximately 9:45 p.m. were roughly 7 inches in Boston, 7.5 inches in Bourne, and 12.5 inches in parts of Worcester.

Approximately 30 additional communities saw at least 10 inches in Worcester, Bristol, Plymouth, Norfolk, Essex, and Middlesex counties, according to an advisory from the National Weather Service.

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The storm also took a toll on the electrical grid, with 101,144 customers without power statewide shortly after 10 p.m., the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said. Spokesman Peter Judge said utility executives informed state and local officials that they expect power to be restored by Saturday.

Additionally, the storm prompted flight cancellations at Boston’s Logan International Airport, where airlines operated about 80 percent of scheduled flights, a statement from Massport said.

“Most of the cancelled flights are to and from the New York area. There are also many delays to the system because of the weather,” Massport said.

The MBTA’s Riverside branch on the Green Line was using shuttle buses between Kenmore Square and Newton Highlands because of trees across the tracks, and the E branch was not operating between Brigham Circle and Heath Street during the day.

First responders in Boston, on state highways, and in communities across the state were dealing with trees crashing down into cars and taking down power lines as they fell.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said firefighters responded to some 50 calls for power lines down in the city throughout Friday. And the weather service collected dozens of damage reports from around the region, including some for downed wires, a fallen utility pole, and trees blocking roads.

State Police spokesman David Procopio said numerous spin-outs and accidents were reported across Massachusetts, but no one suffered injuries that were considered life-threatening.

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Meanwhile, public schools were closed in Boston and many surrounding suburbs.

The storm started as rain early in the morning, but changed over to snow in a slow crawl from the western suburbs into Boston at about 8 a.m.

Boston officials said Friday that no parking ban had been declared, so residents were prohibited from putting space savers down on the street after shoveling the snow around their vehicles.

“There should be no space savers on our city’s streets,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s office said.

Officials said “untimely space savers,” which can be used for 48-hours after a snow emergency is declared, should be reported to Boston’s 311 constituent services hotline.

Forecasters are also keeping their eyes on another potential winter storm at the beginning of next week. Preliminary online forecasts show snow starting early Monday morning and continuing until Wednesday night.

It is currently expected to mix with rain and ice as temperatures fluctuate, but the specifics of that possible storm were unknown Friday.

“There’s a lot up in the air,” weather service meteorologist Bill Simpson said.


Globe correspondent Reenat Sinay and Steve Annear and Jim O’Sullivan of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. J.D. Capelouto can be reached at jd.capelouto@globe.com. Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.