2 killed as 175-foot redwood strikes car

Two people were killed when a redwood tree fell on their car as they drove along a forested highway in Northern California.

The accident took place about 11:45 a.m. on March 25 along Highway 199 near Walker Road in the area of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in Del Norte County, said Brandy Gonzalez, a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol.

The tree, estimated to be 175 feet tall, fell on the couple’s 2016 Honda Accord, Gonzalez said. The driver, a 36-year-old man, and passenger, a 45-year-old woman, were killed instantly, she said.

“Honestly, I’ve been in the department for 19 years, and this is the first incident I’ve seen like this,” Gonzalez said.

Although trees fall during storms and windy days, they don’t usually land on vehicles, she said. Authorities are not sure what caused the tree to fall.

“The best explanation is Mother Nature,” Gonzalez said. “We live in an area where our highways are basically lined with redwoods ... so we are very prone to natural things happening.”

The victims have not been publicly identified by authorities, but family members said they are Jessica and Jake Woodruff of Yreka, a married couple who were traveling to celebrate Jessica’s 45th birthday, according to North Coast News TV.

They leave behind five children, two of them adults in their 20s who will now raise their three younger siblings, the outlet reported.

“They are all dealing with it slightly differently, but I’ll tell you what is absolutely consistent across the board is they are all trying to take care of one another,” Jessica’s cousin Rachel Lewis told the news station.

An online fundraising page set up to assist the family had raised more than $300,000 as of Friday night.

“This was a shocking and unexpected event, and the tragedy of this accident makes it difficult to accept as real,” the fundraiser states. “These five children are now left without parents and are facing a lifetime of expenses.”