Large oak tree topples, traps woman in Glendale

GLENDALE, Calif. (KABC) -- A large tree fell on and trapped a woman in her 70s as she was walking down the street in Glendale Sunday, officials said.

The woman was walking in the 3900 block of El Lado Drive in Glendale when a tall oak became uprooted and came crashing down on her, police and witnesses said.

She was injured and trapped underneath. A car parked on the street was also crushed.

Melissa Walch and her family had just returned home from church when they saw the tree fall.

"She took one or two steps back, leaned back - that was all she had time for and hit her head, the tree hit her. She had no time to get out of the way," Walch said.

Walch says the heavy branches landed on the woman's legs. She was trapped beneath the massive tree limbs, which also completely covered a Lexus parked on the cul de sac.

Neighbors called 911 and tried to free her from the crushing weight of the tree. It took the Glendale fire department about half an hour to free the woman, Walch said.

There are dozens of large oak trees in the neighborhood that tower over homes. Walch wonders if the saturated ground after the recent rain has made other trees more vulnerable.

"It's something that's on everyone's mind now. If you drive through our neighborhood - that's what our whole neighborhood looks like - leaning oaks."

The woman remains hospitalized and an update on her condition was not immediately available.