Sequoia Crushes SUV In National Park

KTVU News ^ | 8/18/03

[Huber]

Sequoia Crushes SUV In National Park

POSTED: 4:46 p.m. PDT August 18, 2003

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. "This vehicle made it all the way from Florida without any problems," Picavet said. "We're all interested to see if the insurance company treats this as an act of God." In nearby Yosemite National Park, a Jeffrey pine tree that was perched atop Sentinel Dome fell to the ground sometime in the last week, Yosemite National Park officials said Monday. The tree attracted photographers Carelton Watkins and Ansel Adams in the late 1800s and appears on numerous park postcards. The tree died during the severe drought of 1976-77. Park officials said storms in the Sierra Nevada in early August may have contributed to the collapse.

[Huber]

This is why we need tougher laws protecting SUVs!

[knarf]

"This vehicle made it all the way from Florida without any problems," Picavet said. "We're all interested to see if the insurance company treats this as an act of God."

Rush is going to love this one.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Mother Nature has spoken, SUVs are evil!

[battlegearboat]

"It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature."

[Huber]

Mother Nature has spoken, SUVs are evil!

No, this SUV was an innocent victim. It was parked, threatening no tree. The sequoia was entirely unjustified. This was a wanton act of aggression by the tree. This was forseeable. We need more regulations on trees to make sure this type of thing can't happen.

NEVER AGAIN!!!

[tet68]

If a Sequoia falls on an SUV and Algore isn't around to hear it ..................

Anyway as they say, "It's always the jug!"

[xp38]

Don't bring an SUV to a Sequoia fight!

[rabidralph]

I wonder if it was a Toyota Sequoia that got crushed?

[metesky]

"How many more must die, Mistuh Speaker?"

[TaxRelief]

I hope that tree wasn't profiling...

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Rush is going to love this one.

Obviously the evil SUV must have committed a homicide/suicide attack on that nice tree. Probably while the owner's back was turned.

[gridlock]

Reading the headline, I wondered if there was anybody in the SUV when it got crushed. I mean, SUVs are constantly running people down by themselves, so it would naturally be the autonomous SUV that makes the headline, even if there were passengers inside.

Thankfully, that was not the case here. If it were, would the headline have been different?

[Musket]

But it is extremely unusual for one to fall and crush a car.

Could be the subject for the next tacky roadside attraction.

[sphinx]

Guess they needed a bigger car.

[TaxRelief]

The headline would have been exactly the same, passengers or no passengers. The only thing that might have made a difference is an alert headline manager. He would have realized that the SUV was INNOCENT, and then the headline would be changed to "Treasured, 1000 Yr old Sequoia, Lost".

[Moose4]

Some days you're the tree, some days you're the SUV...

}:-)4

[tbpiper]

Obviously the evil SUV must have committed a homicide/suicide attack on that nice tree.

Tree Faints At the Sight of SUV

[Servant of the Nine]

.... park officials will leave the tree where it fell.

The least park officials could do would be to give the SUV owners the tree.

So9

[sticker]

Maybe the tree made a mistake, it thought the SUV was a dog? That would make it selfdefense

[eno_]

Yeah, but the SUV owner should get the tree as compensation. At $6 a board-foot for clear redwood, they ain't gonna be driving a Jeep no more.