Crews have been working to remove a massive tree that unexpectedly fell onto a street in Dallas’ Lakewood neighborhood, injuring a woman in an SUV on Monday. The tree, at least 30 feet tall and located on private property on Wendover Road, trapped the driver and has prompted concerns among residents about the safety of the neighborhood’s iconic oak and maple trees.
You can’t walk or drive down streets in Lakewood without passing under various oak and maple trees, among others, that provide a shady canopy over much of the neighborhood.
It’s one of the reasons homeowners like Susan Carton moved there.
“It’s just really pretty and people do a good job of keeping their trees pruned and in good condition,” said Carton.
A large tree fell onto a roadway, landing on an SUV, DFR said.
On Monday afternoon, a tree that was at least 30 feet tall unexpectedly fell from private property onto the 3200 block of Wendover Road.
It landed on top of an SUV, trapping the driver, who was taken to a hospital, reportedly in serious condition. There have been no updates on her condition.
“I was on a walk, I think probably like 30 minutes after it happened,” said Graclyn Dennis.
Dennis said she now has concerns about other trees in the neighborhood.
“Of course, you want to make sure they’re safe for the kids, for people,” Dennis said. “So I don’t know if there’s a way to check and make sure safety is there for sure.”
The fallen tree just happened to be on 10 acres owned by the chairman of the Texas Trees Foundation, David Patterson.
“I love trees,” said Patterson. “It’s my passion.”
Patterson said the thousands of trees on his property are maintained by professionals.
“Every once in a while, one of them falls,” he said. “I wish it didn’t happen, but I don’t think there’s anything I can do about that because it’s a random thing. They were well tended to, I can tell you that, but I feel really bad if there was an injury.”
Patterson says the tree appeared to be in good health, which only adds to the mystery of a bizarre accident.