SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, Calif. -- A 200-foot-tall giant sequoia tree fell along Sequoia National Park's main road, crushing a vehicle into a several-foot high pile of crumpled metal, park officials said Monday.
The tree, believed to be approximately 1,000 years old, fell Sunday at about 5:15 p.m. along the Generals Highway several miles east of the Giant Forest Museum, said park spokeswoman Alexandra Picavet.
No one was injured but the Jeep Grand Cherokee was destroyed, Picavet said.
The vehicle was parked in a turnout alongside the road.
"They had hiked to a waterfall close by. They said they heard this huge crash like a sonic boom and they saw the top of a tree going over," Picavet said. "They didn't put it together until they got back and saw it had fallen on their car."
Picavet said the tree had previous fire damage that contributed to the collapse.
"Only half of the tree was still alive," she said. "These trees do fall. It's not unusual. But it is extremely unusual for one to fall and crush a car."
Picavet said the road was closed for about 15 minutes while park crews and firefighters cleaned gas and oil from the road and cleared tree fragments.
She said park officials will leave the tree where it fell.
The vehicle's owner had driven to California from Florida.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/2414119/detail.html
The tree, believed to be approximately 1,000 years old, fell Sunday at about 5:15 p.m. along the Generals Highway several miles east of the Giant Forest Museum, said park spokeswoman Alexandra Picavet.
No one was injured but the Jeep Grand Cherokee was destroyed, Picavet said.
The vehicle was parked in a turnout alongside the road.
"They had hiked to a waterfall close by. They said they heard this huge crash like a sonic boom and they saw the top of a tree going over," Picavet said. "They didn't put it together until they got back and saw it had fallen on their car."
Picavet said the tree had previous fire damage that contributed to the collapse.
"Only half of the tree was still alive," she said. "These trees do fall. It's not unusual. But it is extremely unusual for one to fall and crush a car."
Picavet said the road was closed for about 15 minutes while park crews and firefighters cleaned gas and oil from the road and cleared tree fragments.
She said park officials will leave the tree where it fell.
The vehicle's owner had driven to California from Florida.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/2414119/detail.html