Recent strong winds and rain are being blamed for downing a large tree that fell in the 4600 Block of Ironwood Ave. in College Park East. The tree which had been in the parkway for decades, fell and crushed a Toyota truck owned by Eric Adams, 20 years old, who stated no one was injured in the incident.
Adams said his truck was parked in front of a neighbors house during the strong rain and wind storm that hit Seal Beach’s College Park East neibhborhood on Monday, Dec. 28. According to Adams, at approximately 3:30 p.m. the tree became uprooted and came crashing down, unfortunately, landing directly on top of his parked truck. The tree was so large that Ironwood Avenue was partially blocked until the Seal Beach Department of Public Works was able to respond and start removing the downed tree. According to Adams, his truck is a total loss.
Neighbor Sue Stratton, who lives in the house where the parkway tree was located, said she “heard the strong winds and heavy rain and as I looked out my window I saw the tree fall.”
“It looked to me to be a double tornado gust,” Stratton said. “The wind was so strong that it lifted the tree out of the ground and then it fell on the truck”
Seal Beach Police responded and took an incident report. The city Department of Public Works quickly removed the street hazard portion of the tree on Monday evening. Public Works employees and contractors returned on Tuesday with a bulldozer and a work crew to remove the balance of the tree from atop Adams’ truck.
Adams said he was disappointed to see his truck of two months destroyed, but is hopeful a posting on Nextdoor will help him find a replacement vehicle.
