Massive fallen tree crushes cars in San Mateo
A huge tree fell and crushed some cars on South Railroad Avenue, between 9th Avenue and 10th Avenue near San Mateo Central Park. (Courtesy of the San Mateo Police Department)
SAN MATEO, Calif. - A huge tree fell in San Mateo on Wednesday, crushing a couple of cars and causing traffic interruptions as crews worked to clear the scene.
The San Mateo Police Department issued an alert just before 3 p.m. detailing that the tree had fallen in the area of South Railroad Avenue, between 9th Avenue and 10th Avenue near San Mateo Central Park.
Photos from the scene showed a white Volkswagen with a heavily damaged windshield and passenger side next to the fallen tree, as well as a white Ford Ranger pickup truck completely crushed beneath some large branches.
(Courtesy of the San Mateo Police Department)
One person received a "non-life-threatening injury" and was treated by the fire department, the SMPD told KTVU.
Local perspective:
Berto Heredia owns and operates the Green Fashion Nursery on the corner of 9th Avenue and South Railroad Avenue, and he told KTVU he was working in his office when the tree fell.
"Around 3 o’clock, being in the office, you hear a big thud and come outside, the tree comes down and there’s people underneath it," Heredia said.
Heredia added there was a man trapped underneath some fallen branches, but he and other bystanders helped him up. He said he was thankful that the other man was not seriously hurt, though he added the fallen tree caused damage to about a third of his nursery and cost him a significant amount of his inventory.
Heredia said he had contacted the city in the past to let them know that the tree could pose a potential hazard.
"This is something that we’ve called the city about before. We informed them that this tree is old," he said. "When you call, you get a city clerk who says they’ll get back to you in a day or two. And unfortunately, you know, nothing was caught in time before things like this happen."
Heredia said he now has no other choice but to wait for the scene to be cleared, a temporary fence to be installed and to see who will foot the bill to rectify the destruction.
"We’re a family business, so stuff like that really hurts when we get affected by situations like these," he said.
Diane Akers, a resident who has lived in San Mateo for 50 years, told KTVU that she lives a couple blocks away from 9th Avenue and South Railroad Avenue. She said she heard helicopters over her house, but assumed they were flying over a crash on the nearby freeway and decided to go out to walk her dogs, Neko and Missy.
"Walking the dogs… we saw the tree. Amazing!" Akers said.
She added that, a few years ago during COVID, another big tree fell on a truck nearby and almost split the vehicle in two.
"It wasn’t nearly as big as this guy is, though," Akers said.
She said that, with how much encroaching construction she has seen in her neck of the woods, it is tragic to lose even more greenery.
"I think there’s so much building going on around here that, any time we lose something like this, it’s sad," Akers said. "These [trees] are historical."
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The Source: San Mateo Police Department