By Michael Kelley
mikekelley5@gmail.com
GREAT BARRINGTON—A 41-year-old Brookline mother is clinging to life in an intensive care unit after being crushed by a falling tree during a violent thunderstorm that wreaked havoc on South County, snapping trees, interrupting power and making for messy driving conditions.
The woman was taken unconscious to the Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield reportedly suffering from a broken neck. Bloggers, who identified themselves as friends of the injured woman, said that if she survives, the woman will be paralyzed. Great Barrington police officials would not reveal the victim’s name.
At approximately 2:45 p.m. on June 22, high winds and rain brought down a tree outside of The Country Dining Room Antiques store, next to the United Methodist Church on Main Street.
The tree, which is estimated to be between 50- and 100-years-old ,was severely rotted, according to Peter J. Haupt, of The Haupt Tree Company, Inc., which was called in to clean up the storm damage.
The tree snapped in half, knocking down a utility pole on the corner of Rosseter Street, downing live power lines and falling on top of a white vehicle, trapping a woman and her husband inside just after they had pulled over to the side of the road to wait out the storm and let firefighters hurrying to a call pass..
According to Great Barrington Fire Chief Harry Jennings, the accident happened right in front of several members of the Fire Department as they were heading to the fire station to respond to a call. He confirmed reports the car had been registered in Brookline.
Despite the emergency responders on-the-spot presence at the accident as it happened, Jennings said there was not much they could do since there were live electrical wires hanging on top of the vehicle.
“We will not go into an area with live wires without an OK from National Grid to let us know the power has been shut off,” Jennings said. “Fortunately, they were at the scene within five minutes.”
It was only after National Grid was called in to switch off power to the block that emergency personnel were able to extricate the woman, said to be unconscious at the time.
The husband, however, was able to escape from the car on his own.
The woman’s husband was shaken up but not injured because of the way the tree fell atop the vehicle.
Jennings said visibility at the time was zero with extremely heavy wind, hail and rain.
It was the combination of these elements, as well as the decaying nature of the tree which caused it to break, Haupt said. Removal of the tree, in hindsight, probably should have happened a long time ago, but Haupt said it is hard to tell if a tree is in danger of falling, unless examined by a trained arborist.
Trees start to decay, he said, when they are not properly cared for.
“You have to maintain a tree to maintain their health and vitality,” he said, likening caring for a tree to taking care of a car. “The more you maintain a tree the more they can weather a storm like that one.”
“The whole key to tree preservation is tree maintenance,” he added.
Erik G. Haupt II said with trees as old as this one, it is always a good idea to have it inspected to do what is called a hazard tree assessment, which determines the health of the tree as well as its structural flaws.
“You can’t see the extent of the decay unless you do some sort of test,” he said.
Despite the tragic outcome, Erik Haupt said, this serves as a good example of the importance of the hazardous tree assessment.
According to a local attorney, the owner of the property, The Country Dining Room Antiques, the town of Great Barrington and the property owner’s insurance provider could all be held liable for the damages from the tree.
