Parents killed in 'shocking' accident as 53m tree falls on car
A couple has been killed after a 53-metre tall tree fell on top of their car as they were driving.
Jessica and Jake Woodruff, 36, were driving their 2016 Honda on Thursday (local time) along the California coast for her 45th birthday when the giant redwood tree tumbled, according to local publication SFGATE.com.
The couple leave behind five children, according to a GoFundMe created by friends and family.
“This was a shocking and unexpected event, and the tragedy of this accident makes it difficult to accept as real,” the GoFundMe said.
“These five children are now left without parents and are facing a lifetime of expenses.
“We are asking that anyone who can support them, please do so, as these children are facing the devastating reality of what was just ripped from their lives in a split second.”
The older children, who are from Ms Woodruff’s first marriage, have vowed to keep the younger children together and raise them.
“As we can all imagine it is going to be a very trying and difficult job to try and keep a sense of normalcy for these children,” the GoFundMe says.
Local police say they are not sure why the tree fell as the weather was nice and there was only light wind.
“This is a very forested area,” Officer Brandy Gonzalez, a spokesperson for the local police, told SFGATE.com.
“We have trees everywhere. It’s in the middle of the redwoods. It’s just old growth and we have no idea why the tree fell. It was Mother Nature,” she said.
Officer Gonzalez said that although trees do fall in the area, this timing was “very, very unusual.”
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