It was an accident between their car and a tree. Mother driving, hit ice, skidded then hit a tree.
And the tree had no liability insurance. ;o)
Sounds like she was driving too fast for road conditions.
Claims to have hit ice.
The last precipitation in the area was a half-inch of rain three days earlier, and the temperatures after the rain had averaged in the 40's. No snow for several weeks prior to the accident.
I'm not saying for certain there was no ice, but it looks unlikely.