Falling Tree Stuns and Injures Driver on Humphrey Street

A 61-year-old driver from Marblehead was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital on Tuesday about 2:30 pm after a tree fell on his SUV while it was traveling toward Lynn on Humphrey Street. 

The unidentified driver was stunned by the tree falling on the vehicle's roof and hood, according Swampscott fire and

No information was immediately available on the man's condition. We wil report his identity and condition as that information is released.

This was the second time since Saturday that a tree had fallen on a vehicle in Swampscott.

The first falling tree fell on a house and a parked vehicle in the driveway at 57 Buena Vista St. on Saturday afternoon about the same time as Tuesday's falling tree. 

On Tuesday, a part of the tree may have come through the vehicle's sunroof and struck the driver, said Capt. John Quinn.

The passenger, a woman, took control of the vehicle's steering wheel from the passenger's seat, and, reaching her leg over to the brake pedal, brought the vehicle to a stop, the fire captain said.

The tree fell in the vicinity of 565 Humphrey St, near the, and the car came to a stop about 1/10 of a mile away at the intersection of Humphrey and Cedar Hill Terrace. 

When Swampscott firefighters arrived a Swampscott police officer had stabilized the man, the fire captain said.

Firefighters placed a brace on his neck and backboard below him before helping medics place him in an ambulance.

The injured man was conscious, the fire captain said.

The tree looked like a maple and was about 24-inches around. It was growing several feet off the sidewalk among dense vegetation including vines at the bottom of a ledge-filled hill.

The tree broke near the base and looked like it had weakened over time and fallen on its own.

A crew responded to the scene and loaded the tree into a dump truck and hauled it to a DPW location at the back of the Swampscott Cemetery, said DPW Director Gino Cresta.

The DPW director said this was the first time he recalled a tree landing on a moving vehicle in town.

Sign up for Swampscott Patch’s daily newsletter, “like” us on Facebook and “follow” us on Twitter to get news, blogs, announcements and events.

Want to share your opinions with your community? Start your own blog here.