Off-duty officer gravely injured by falling tree

Donna Rypkema, 37, an off-duty corrections officer, was seriously injured when this tree branch fell from the elevated Long Island Rail Road tracks in Ridgewood. The married mother of a 15-year-old son was crossing Myrtle Avenue during a street fair on Sunday, August 17 when the incident happened. She was taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where her family held vigil at her bedside and her co-workers prayed for her recovery. On Tuesday, August 19, it was reported that Rypkema was to unndergo lifesaving surgery to relieve brain swelling.