2 hospitalized in Granite Bay after fallen tree lands on multiple vehicles, CHP says

By Nijzel Dotson and Orko Manna

Click here for updates on this story

    GRANITE BAY, California (KCRA) — A tree fell down in Granite Bay and struck two vehicles on Sunday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Auburn division.

CHP said that the tree fell around 3:26 p.m. at Auburn Folsom Road near Douglas Boulevard. Both drivers were taken to a hospital after sustaining moderate injuries.

South Placer Fire District Battalion Chief Brian Midtlyng told KCRA 3’s Orko Manna that one of the drivers needed to be pulled from their vehicle. The other driver was able to get out of their car, but was still taken to the hospital once emergency responders arrived to the scene.

Midtlyng added that a likely cause for the tree falling is that the tree was soaked with rain from the recent storms, and he warned that a similar incident could happen again.

“We have a lot of oak trees out here, the ground is very wet, and so therefore, this is probably not the last time this will occur during the rainy season here,” Midtlyng said.

Gene Graves lives in the home right next to where the fallen tree once stood. He said he and his wife were inside Sunday afternoon having a conversation when they noticed something was not right.

“We heard this sound, this extremely loud cracking sound,” Graves said. “We heard the crashing sound of the tree. We didn’t know at the time what it was when we heard it. And then we heard the cars.”

Graves said he immediately went outside, as did other neighbors, to see what happened. Everyone pitched in to call 911 and tried to help the drivers who were impacted by the fallen tree. In cell phone video that Graves gave to KCRA 3, one car is seen with branches going through a broken windshield and an SUV is seen crushed underneath the tree.

“The tree had fallen right straight through the top of the car. The man was definitely trapped in the car,” Graves said.

Graves told KCRA 3 that he is happy that he, and his other neighbors, jumped into action.

“What it tells us is that we’re still a culture of people who care about others, people that we don’t know. Obviously, they’re strangers to all of us. But the neighbors kept coming out from all the various residents around,” Graves said.

There was no update Sunday night on the conditions of the two drivers hurt in the incident.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.