Police identify Sarah Noah as woman killed by falling tree limb in D.C. park

They laughed about Noah’s love of puffer vests — no matter the weather — and affinity for Spotify playlists with silly names, and cried over her ability to fill the studio with positive energy.

Reformation Fitness instructor Addy Baird said she took Noah’s morning Pilates class every week for a year before deciding to become an instructor herself.

“Being with her and learning from her, it was impossible to have a bad day after that,” Baird said. “I felt like I could take on the world because I got a little piece of Sarah.”

Baird said she was still reeling, struggling to understand how one of the most vivacious people she knew could be gone. She described Noah as a woman who always had energy to pour into the people and things that mattered to her, somehow managing to teach early-morning classes while working a full-time job and qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

“She was doing it all and it seemed so effortless and so elegant,” Baird said. “She was so fast, she was so fit, she was so strong, she was so smart. She had so much energy and life to her. That’s a big part of why it was so shocking.”

Officers were called to Garfield Park at 7:24 a.m. Wednesday after getting a call that a large tree had fallen on top of someone. When they got there, they found Noah, 35, pinned underneath a large branch, not conscious or breathing.

The branch was too heavy for officers to remove, requiring emergency personnel to remove it with chain saws, according to a police report. Witnesses to the branch falling had reported hearing multiple loud pops and cracks that caused people in the park to “run in all directions,” according to the report.

Noah’s family could not be reached for comment. But Reformation Fitness co-owners Mike Huling and Nicole Kaib called her “an amazing person who had such a huge heart and wonderful soul.”

“As an instructor Sarah was known for her smart, incredibly creative sequences, and ability to cue exercises with precision,” they wrote in a statement. “She was also funny and had a unique ability to weave in anecdotes about her life without losing the pacing of the class. People loved her classes both for the exceptional instruction, but also the relatable person. … Our hearts go out to Sarah’s husband, family, and friends as they are dealing with such an unimaginable loss.”

Asked about the incident Thursday morning, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Noah’s death was a “heartbreaking tragedy.”

“My heart goes out, certainly, to the family of our resident and the whole neighborhood that’s pretty in shock,” Bowser said, adding, “We are just really concerned for the [family] … it’s a shocking tragedy.”

D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) said Wednesday that the incident was “devastating” for the community, adding that Noah was believed to have been walking her dog. Police spokesperson Lee Lepe said Thursday morning that the report “does not list any other injuries or damages caused by the limb’s collapse.” The park is frequently used by area children and neighbors.

Crews on Wednesday dismantled what remained of the massive swamp white oak tree, which officials from the D.C. Department of Transportation estimated to be more than 100 years old. The agency, which has an Urban Forestry Division, said the tree was inspected less than two years ago and was found to be in good health.

Officials have not yet determined what caused the limb to fall from a tree that otherwise appeared to be healthy. In October, ahead of the North American Tree Climbing Championship, a volunteer crew examined and performed maintenance on the trees in Garfield Park to make sure they were safe for climbing, according to Jeff Inman, an arborist in Richmond who won the climbing competition. Inman said it can be difficult to diagnose what caused a tree to fall or snap.

Acting DDOT director Sharon Kershbaum said in a statement Wednesday that the tree was last inspected in May 2022 and determined to be in good condition. She said the agency plans to reinspect all of the park’s mature trees by the end of the week, and expressed condolences to Noah’s loved ones.

On Wednesday afternoon, a group of neighbors of the park wrote a letter to Bowser and several city agencies, including DDOT, pointing to previous 311 requests for maintenance in the park that they claimed had received delayed responses.

The neighbors asked for a meeting with DDOT and the city’s D.C. Department of General Services and the Department of Parks and Recreation to discuss plans for continued maintenance of trees in the park, as well as “a strategic plan going forward on what will change in order to help keep residents safe as prolonged drought and extreme weather become more common.”

In a Thursday afternoon post on X, Frank Avery, an advisory neighborhood commissioner on Capitol Hill, said he would look to formalize some of the maintenance requests through the commission.

Avery also confirmed that DDOT was working to assess trees in the park, adding that the agency’s “preliminary assessment remains that the park is safe for residents to use.”

A DDOT spokesperson did not return a request for comment on the letter.

On Thursday, some visitors left flowers and other mementos at the site of the tree, now a stump.

Longtime Capitol Hill resident Toni Aluisi approached solemnly and placed a colorful bouquet of carnations and gerbera daisies atop the pile.

Although she did not know Noah personally, she said she thought of all the times she had probably passed her while walking around Garfield Park, maybe exchanging a greeting or a wave.

“She was one of us,” Aluisi said. “I had a dog until December and I was in the park every day, five times a day, and we all knew each other by our dogs’ names. Even though we didn’t know each other, we all knew each other. This is a community.”

Meagan Flynn contributed to this report.