The accident occurred at about 6.30 pm on An Duong Vuong Street in Cho Quan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City.
Le Van Dung, 59, from Ninh Binh Province, was riding a motorcycle with his wife, Duong Thi Thoan, 57, travelling from the Nguyen Van Cu junction towards Hong Bang when a large tree branch suddenly snapped and fell onto their vehicle.
The impact threw the couple onto the road. Both were rushed to An Binh Hospital, about 1.2km from the scene, but Dung later died from severe injuries.
The fallen branch, estimated to be around 30cm in diameter, landed on the motorcycle, with its canopy covering almost an entire traffic lane.
At the time of the accident, the area was experiencing heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds.
Nguyen Vo Xuan Ky, chairman of the People's Committee of Cho Quan Ward, said Thoan suffered spinal injuries and multiple other traumas before being transferred to Cho Ray Hospital for further treatment.
Local authorities visited the victims and their family at hospital following the incident. Ky said the ward administration would require the agency responsible for urban greenery management to inspect trees across the area in an effort to reduce the risk of similar accidents.
An Duong Vuong Street is lined with mature trees, many of which exceed 20 metres in height.
The latest fatality is not the first tree-related accident on the route. In September 2024, a branch about 20cm in diameter fell from a height of nearly 20 metres near Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, striking and killing a 52-year-old woman.
In 2016, also on An Duong Vuong Street, a rainstorm uprooted a large tree more than 30 metres tall and about one metre in diameter. The tree fell onto a 25-year-old man, who later died from his injuries.
