Tree 1 - Yaris 0

[gabagooo]

On Monday, while driving to the airport (during 50 mph winds) in rural North Carolina, my Yaris and I were almost crushed by a falling tree. It was surreal. I was driving at the posted speed limit of 55 MPH when I saw a tree begin to fall toward the road. It took a second for my mind to register what I was seeing, but I hit my breaks and skidded some 50 to 60 feet. Coming in the opposite direction was a gasoline tanker truck. In less than two seconds a lot was going through my mind: tree, truck, explosion, crash, bang. Just as the car came to a halt the tanker truck burst through what had been the top of the huge tree. It looked like an explosion of tree limbs with huge pieces of wood went flying in every direction. One huge piece hit the Yaris in the front left wheel and my driver’s side door with a solid thud. I got out of the car and cleared a 15 foot limb from the West bound lane and I began to direct traffic around my car and the tree. It took me a few minutes to realize that the Yaris was stopped just eight feet from the trunk of the fallen tree, one second more of forward motion and the Yaris and I would have been crushed. No one was hurt. Both the trucker and I dodged a bullet. His rig was pretty badly mangled, but was drivable. The Yaris wasn’t so lucky. Although it doesn’t look like much, it seems that when the limb hit the wheel it did some damage underneath to the drive line, perhaps the axel. When I attempted to drive the car it made a strange noise and it didn’t track properly. I had it towed to a body shop and I am awaiting the insurance adjuster’s estimates. I have attached a few photos (sorry for the quality, I took them with my cell phone). This was one of those, “There by the grace of God go I” scenarios for me.