CRASH DAMAGES BELOVED DELRAY TREE
Unique ficus planted by woman’s mother is beginning to heal.
DELRAY BEACH — On June 2, a black Chrysler 200 slammed into Geraldine Knight’s home in southwest Delray Beach.
Knight came outside to find that the car had driven through a fence and pushed up against a concrete wall and a tree in her yard. The driver of the vehicle, 29-year-old Roy Criscione, was taken to Delray Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office said a small bullet wound to the back of his head killed him.
That horrifying moment was enough to rattle Knight, but soon she got even more bad news.
The car had smashed into a special tree planted by her mother nearly 50 years ago in her front lawn, severely damaging it.
“It’s important to me more than life itself,” Knight said. “My mother died when I was about 13 years old. The tree is my best friend.”
The tree, a unique type of ficus tree not common in this area, consists of foliage that looks like a halo. It is trimmed by a family friend and known throughout the community.
“I think for her neighborhood, and she’s living in a neighborhood where it looks like people are really taking care of their property, it looks like it’s certainly a signature tree,” said William Wilsher, senior landscape planner for the city of Delray Beach.
Some bark was taken off the tree and Knight was implored to paint over the tree’s scar with something called “tree paint,” which essentially is a liquid bandage for trees that ensures nothing gets into the tree’s scar.
Wilsher has been to the home multiple times to inspect the tree and believes that in time it will heal. He has checked to see if foliage was dying off or if bark was coming off the branches, neither of which he found evidence.
That’s good news for Knight, who will continue to tend to the tree that means so much to her.
Knight’s mother always told her the tree would be worth money one day and, sure enough, someone wanted to purchase it. Knight was set to sell it before her son talked her out of it, reminding her that the bond she formed with the tree was more important than money.
Knight didn’t see the incident, but she did hear the gunshots that preceded the crash. She described her community as a place where everyone gets along with everybody and says she is unsure why the shooting happened.
“We fight a lot of crime on that corner, but there are some wonderful people there, too — residents who have lived there for decades, friends and neighbors who take care of each other, and take pride in their street and their city. That tree is like them — resilient, unique and beautiful,” said Delray Beach Police spokeswoman Dani Moschella.