SUDBURY, MASS. (WHDH) - A massive tree split right down the middle and came crashing down on a woman while she was clearing snow with her son in Sudbury.
Jake Mackenzi and his mother, Paula, were cleaning up from Wednesday’s nor’easter when the tree fell across the driveway. Jake says he was able to dive out of the way, but his mother was caught under a large branch.
“The snowblower was on, so I never heard the tree crack,” Paula Mackenzi told 7News. “I do remember seeing branches coming at me.”
The incident happened at around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. Neighbors heard the woman yelling for help and rushed to her aid.
“I heard her screaming and wailing and saying she was hurt,” said neighbor Diane Stearns.
Sudbury Police Chief, Scott Nix, responded to the 911 call, but with storm damage scattered throughout the town, he says it was difficult to reach her.
“We had to navigate through several road closures in order to get here,” he said.
In the meantime, neighbors jumped in to help, lifting the tree off the woman. Her son says she is expected to be OK but had surgery on her right arm and suffered a large cut on her left arm and her head.
Her son says his mother had a similar incident years ago after a tree fell onto her home and that she’s always feared trees in severe storms like this.
“I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I’ve always been afraid because of all these trees. My worst nightmare came true,” Paula said.
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