Teen trapped after tree crashes into his bedroom somehow survives unscathed
WCBS
By Christina Fan, Christine Sloan, Justin Lewis
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RIDGEFIELD, New Jersey (WCBS) — Windy conditions took down trees around New York City and New Jersey overnight.
One tree was blown over and hit the power lines in Queens. Limbs of another fell onto cars and blocked the street on the Upper West Side.
A tree crashed into a multi-family home in Ridgefield, New Jersey, taking out a chunk of a brick wall and exposing the interior of a second story room.
The family said they were asleep inside when they heard a thunderous boom around 1 a.m. The father said he ran to his son’s bedroom, couldn’t get through the door, called out to him for several minutes in a panic and received no response. He ran outside and started to pray.
“I was asleep, and I just hear a little noise and my son shouting. I was calling. He wasn’t responding. He passed out, so I just ran outside naked, shouting for help. I didn’t take my phone, anything. I asked the neighbor to call for help, so I was just there praying to God for a miracle to happen, and after 30 minutes, he stepped outside,” the father Rubicon Okudzeto said.
“I didn’t know it was a tree, exactly. I just felt like something pressing down on me. And I just knew I was in pain, so I had to get out of there. So I started crouching out, then I went trying to find anyone in the house, but there was no one there. Then I went to my neighbors, knocking on the door, but no one answered. So I went outside and I found my dad over there,” said the son, Gael Okudzeto. “I was just thankful. I am really lucky to survive this, because not everyone would be this lucky.”
The 18-year-old was checked out for bruising to the side of his body. He came home after spending hours in the hospital, but is expected to be OK.
He said all he remembers is a loud noise. He thinks he was unconscious for a few minutes in his room, which he said was filled with debris.
“Everything is destroyed. Like, everything’s covered by the roof. I lost all my clothes,” he said.
Another family downstairs was able to get out without injuries.
Neighbors said they heard a loud thud on Bruce Street, while all of New Jersey was under a wind advisory with gusts reported stronger than 50 miles per hour.
A woman who lives in the building said the ground shook so violently, at first, she thought it was an earthquake, looked online to see if there were reports of one, couldn’t find anything and then went back to sleep. She came outside hours later to walk her dog and realized what happened.
“I texted my neighbors – I’m close with them down here. I haven’t gotten a response, but I think they’re OK, I didn’t see that it hit them — it didn’t hit them directly,” said neighbor Marissa Blanco. “I mean, these winds, these trees, got to be careful.”
While it appeared most of the branches and trunk fell in the direction of the road, there was still noticeable damage to the building. One branch also shattered the rear window of a car.
First responders taped off the apartment complex, and two of the units closest to the tree were evacuated.
Peak wind gusts reached up to 70 mph in parts of the Tri-State Area late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Stony Brook, New York reported the strongest at 70 mph, followed by Bayville, N.Y. at 61 mph and White Plains, N.Y. at 60 mph.
New Jersey’s peak gusts were reported in Bayonne, which saw 57 mph.
Today started off brisk, with wind chills making it feel like the 30s and 40s, especially north and west of the city. This afternoon stays mostly sunny, but blustery, with highs only reaching the low 50s — about 10 to 15 degrees cooler than yesterday.
You’ll want to bundle up tonight, as it could be the coldest night of the season so far in the city, with lows near 40°. Suburbs will dip into the 30s, and some distant spots could even flirt with the 20s. A Frost Advisory has also been issued across our suburbs, so do be mindful of those plants before you turn in.
Tomorrow will be a touch milder under partly to mostly cloudy skies, with highs in the upper 50s. But don’t get too comfortable — showers move in tomorrow night.
Looking ahead to the weekend, Saturday starts with early showers, but clears up nicely by afternoon. Expect highs in the mid 60s. Sunday, however, looks soggy again, with showers likely and highs around 60°.
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