Tree Falls on Car in California , killing the driver

[JI7]

does anyone know how this could happen. i have heard of things like this happening but the weather was to blame. but that was not the case here. very sad for the woman. they said she was alive but died by the time they got her out. more pics of the accident at the link.

<COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Authorities say a large eucalyptus tree fell on a car stopped at a red light in Southern California, crushing the vehicle and killing the female driver.

Costa Mesa police Lt. Mark Manley says the car was stopped on Irvine Boulevard shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday when the tree, estimated between 40 and 50 feet tall, toppled over from the center median and onto the vehicle.

The coroner's office identified the woman as 29-year-old Haeyoon Miller of Tustin.

Manley says Miller was the only person in the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities do not know what caused the tree to fall.>


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/15/3913967/tree-falls-on-car-in-calif-killing.html#ixzz1Y6cSmert

[Poll_Blind]

1. Hrm, well assuming no other cause (like weather), I'd say that the tree had...

...actually been in the process of falling for a long, long time...before it actually fell over. Or, to put it another way, have you ever stacked up a bunch of boxes in a garage or some other place where nobody really goes? We have a garage where we put all kinds of things, boxes, paper, sometimes folders of stuff. Sometimes, randomly (or so it would seem), a stack of (whatever) might fall over. It's not because something knocked it over, it's that it was imbalanced and basically started falling the moment I put the last box on top. It just might've taken weeks to actually get to the point where it would tip.

Sometimes just repeated expansions and contractions of things over time because of the heating and cooling cycle of day/night can cause an unstable structure to give it up.

Dunno if that makes any sense and I'm definitely not trying to be facetious.

PB

[court jester]

5. good guess

here's the street view, since this is high def (or whatever goog calls it) this probably was taken within the last year



33 37 43.96 N 117 54 29.58 W

[hunter]

11. It looks like they recently expanded the left turn lane...

... and reconfigured the median.

That probably wasn't good for the tree.

[Poll_Blind]

13. Wow, that's really sobering. I wonder what kind of rules the maintenance crews have for...

...trees listing so heavily?

PB

[End Of The Road]

2. I'm beginning to worry about the same in my area

The number of dead or dying trees in Central Texas is increasingly noticeable with this drought. When I drive beneath heavy overhang of some obviously stressed tree I wonder what might happen one of these days...

[sammytko]

12. i'm in s. tx and have seen fallen trees in 3 neighborhood yards

we are allowed to hand water anytime of the day, and I water around my pecan trees often. Sadly, no pecan crop this year - its not enough water for them.

[Art_from_Ark]

3. Apparently the victim was an accomplished musician

having studied at Julliard and performed at Carnegie Hall. She was also the CEO of a sports training facility for children.

http://www.pixandflips.com/our-staff.html

[JI7]

4. yeah, i saw that, very young also but already accomplished more

than most.

[zalinda]

6. It's very easy for a tree to fall

when it doesn't have a large root system. Take a look at where that tree is located and how big it was, it was a disaster waiting to happen. Normally, when a tree starts to lean, the root system will balance it out, that's one of the reasons it exists. Not only does it have a small space for it's root system, there is probably a very shallow water level, since it doesn't rain much there, and there is very little ground that can soak up the water.

A disaster waiting to happen, and I'm surprised that it doesn't happen more.

zalinda

[Maine-ah]

7. we had one up here about a month or so ago.

Not the whole tree, but a very large branch fell and impaled a woman through her head. Amazingly, she's still alive.

[Paper Roses]

8. Sad story. I would bet that the root structure was too shallow

and eventually gave up. The weight of a 50 foot tree could easily bring it down if the roots are shallow.
One fell on my house years ago, we were told the roots became insufficient to support the tree as it grew when a development of townhouses was built next door. A stone wall was set near the tree, the foundation not far on the opposite side. The roots had nowhere to go as they cut around it for one construction job or another.

There are many trees around me that should be removed. They are 150 years old and leaning at a severe angle.

In this California situation, perhaps the roots were severely weakened when they built the road and median.

[LeftinOH]

9. That's an awfully big tree for such a narrow median- not safe, and impedes visibility.

[marions ghost]

10. Once had a tree fall on my car

I had just gotten out of it and gone inside. Still gives me the willies. Until that point I never knew big trees would just suddenly crash down in an instant. The tree was like the one in the picture, large and probably not enough root system. Drought seriously weakens trees.
Tragic.