The parents of a seven-year-old girl killed by a falling branch as she played in a park said they were “still living the nightmare of the day” a year later.
Leonna Ruka, from Dagenham in east London, was on a family outing to Southend-on-Sea when she suffered a fatal head injury on 28 June 2025.
Four other children were injured, including Leonna’s six-year-old cousin, who was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
Parents Leo and Floreta Ruka said their lives changed forever as a result of their “beautiful” daughter’s death, adding it still felt “impossible”.
“It feels as though we are still living the nightmare of the day she was taken from us,” they said, in a statement supplied to the BBC.
“There are no words that can truly capture the pain of losing a child. The last year has been the longest and most difficult of our lives.
“While the world has continued to move forward, for those who loved Leonna, there remains a space that can never be filled.”
BBC News
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