Woman Seriously Injured When Large Tree Crashes Through Great Neck Home
GREAT NECK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A blue tarp covered the roof of a Great Neck home where a 5,000-lbs tree smashed into a bedroom just after midnight on Monday.
A woman was seriously hurt when the tree fell on Wooleys Lane East.
"We assumed it was a gas explosion because the fire trucks were all over the block," neighbor David Zuckerman said.
Stephanie Epstein, 20, was asleep when the 5,000-pound, 85-foot-tall tree unexpectedly fell into the second story of the home and into her bedroom, police said. The woman was pinned to her bed by the oak tree and other debris that landed, police said.
5,000 lb tree crashed through roof and on top of 20 yr old woman sleeping in bed. She's alive #GreatNeck #LongIsland pic.twitter.com/LNxCtisUg7
— Janelle Burrell (@BurrellTV) July 27, 2015
"One of the major limbs that comes off of the trunk was right on top of her," Great Neck fire Chief James Neubert said.
"The pain that she was in was tremendous," he added.
The trunk took down live power lines when it fell, requiring firefighters to work very carefully using saws and hydraulic equipment for two hours before they were able to free Epstein, CBS2's Steve Langford reported.
"A combination of different things is what really saved her -- positioning of her bed, being on a bed itself took some of the cushioning in, some of the structural units on the side of the house," Neubert said.
As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported, family members left the home on Monday, to head for North Shore Hospital where Epstein was taken.
Epstein was taken to the hospital in serious but stable condition with multiple trauma injuries. She is expected to recover.
Her grandmother spoke briefly about her.
"I don't know if she really remembers it," she said.
On Monday afternoon, more than 12 hours after the tree fell, work crews were continuing the cleanup and beginning to assess the extensive repairs.
Neighbors said the homeowners had just installed new siding a week ago.
"It's mind-boggling," Zuckerman said. "They're very nice people. They're a nice couple, nice kids. It's just shocking."
The tree actually fell from a neighbor's yard and onto the home. There was no answer at that neighbor's door, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
David Cion, with Long Island Lumberjack Tree Service, which is removing the tree, told 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon the tree had previous damage but none of it was visible from the outside.
"It didn't have any telltale signs of deterioration, but it was probably done from one of the hurricanes that had passed in the last five or six years, and it was compromised and just fell over," Cion said.
Neighbors, however, said they have serious concerns about all the old trees in the area.
"I guess now they're going to have be a little bit more lenient about letting people take it down," Zuckerman said.
Bill Logan with the Urban Arborists Tree Company said signs to look for include swelling or bulging along the trunk, any hollows, and a lack of leaves among the top branches.
While it's not always obvious that a tree might have problems, homeowners should have certain trees inspected.
"If they're very large trees, and if they're in place where the failure of a part of them could do serious harm or damage, probably every three to four, five years if probably a good idea," Logan said.
Great Neck Mayor Pedram Bral said he's sending inspectors to the neighborhood to make sure there aren't more trees in similar condition.
Bral, who is also a doctor, visited the victim in the hospital and said the tree limb landed on her stomach. Had it hit full force on her chest or pelvis, he said, the woman might have been killed.