SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A long week of tropical weather for the region left behind damage, and a mother and her son are lucky to be alive after a tree fell on their car while driving on Route 58 in Suffolk Thursday.
Kimberly Channell said she had just picked up her 8-year-old son Bradley and they were heading home when the ordeal happened.
“I was really scared, mostly for my son,” Channell said. “That’s what I was more worried about than anything what is about to happen. I’ve never been in a car accident in my entire life. Part of it had fell and the rest of it was coming and there was nowhere for me to go.”
Ultimately becoming trapped inside of their car, a nearby driver helped them get out.
“He was yanking on the door and I was pushing and yelling, ‘Help me get out,” Channell said.
More help followed suit from first responders, who say they are always prepared for scary events like this.
“We put 21 firefighters up there — that’s 21 firefighters to treat and care for the people injured,” said Suffolk Fire Chief Mike Barakey. “We got that road open in one hour and 20 minutes and we called Public Works immediately.”
Suffolk Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Richard Stephens outlined what caused the tree to fall.
“With the ground being so saturated from the rain and then the wind gusts, that’s what called the tree to fall,” Stephens said.
Officials are proud of the work their teams did to keep all involved out of harm’s way.
“Fire crews were able to break out their chainsaws and start working on removing the tree to try to open up at least one lane,” Stephens said.
They’re also glad Channell and her son are safe.
“Injuries were limited to cuts and scrapes from the glass, but other than that, they were really unharmed,” Barakey said. “They were both seat-belted in, proper use of seatbelts helped save them.”