Looks like a euc to me that fell - soil failure?

Eric Frei · 10th April 2009, 12:45 PM

Quote:

LAKELAND - The odds are probably a million to one that a tree would fall onto your house and hit you. But Najee Joseph's number just came up.

He was upstairs on his mom’s bed watching You Tube with his brother Freedie, when he heard a thunderous roar.

"I don't even know if I blacked out or not. All I know is that I opened my eyes, and I was under a tree," he said. "I could barely open them because so much stuff was falling on my face. I just saw, I am under a tree."

His brother, Freddie, was beside him unconscious after being hit on the head by part of the roof.
Their sister made a frantic call to their mom who was out shopping.

"The way she was crying, I thought he was dead or something," Sandra Joseph-Marquis told FOX 13.
Najee began to worry as time wore on. He worried about rescue workers possibly having to cut off his feet to get him out. He worried that he wouldn't be able to breathe, because all the debris flying around in the air was aggravating his asthma. He really got concerned when he lost feeling in his left leg.

It took two hours, but emergency crews finally were able to free Najee after cutting the bed into pieces.

Despite a nightmarish day, Nagee was thankful he did luck out in one sense.

"I was on my side. It didn't get any of my organs or my privates. Thank God. Can't have any of that," he said jokingly.

For now, Najee and eight of his family members are staying in a motel paid for by the American Red Cross. They're not sure where they are going to live. They're also not sure about something else.

Najee is still on such heavy pain medication, they don't know if he is going to have any long-term problems.

From: Wind-Toppled Tree Pins Medulla Man in Bed | theledger.com | The Ledger | Lakeland, FL

From: Tree traps man in Lakeland home | WFTS-TV

Therrin · 11th April 2009, 08:54 AM

Hey, when your number's up, it's up....Don't fight it.

Poor kid.

Sean Freeman · 11th April 2009, 10:09 AM

Windows are admittedly a weak point in house/building construction, however given the small distance of that tree to the edge of the home it really would have generated little momentum by the time it made contact, seems odd to me that the top plate (which in Oz would be a double thickness) over the top of the window would fail like that.

Of course everything has its limits and fail it clearly has!....hope that the final outcome for the people inside is not the worst case scenario.

Apocalypsse · 11th April 2009, 10:26 AM

Looks like they done the upstairs on the cheap, the bottom level is bricks or something.

Eric Frei · 11th April 2009, 01:01 PM

Yeah but .... why did the tree fall?

Looks sandy to me with a lot of roots going straight down not out. It seems to me for the size of the tree that the flare/buttresses were under-developed.... the tree roots going deeper in the sand rather than wider.

Sean Freeman · 11th April 2009, 03:30 PM

Tree probably buried, we are looking at the adventitious root system perhaps?

Eric Frei · 11th April 2009, 05:08 PM

Highly possible, maybe 1m fill.

If you look carefully at the pics there's some unusually large lateral roots 1m beneath the soil level of the tree.

phill ellison · 11th April 2009, 10:17 PM

I may be wrong (have done a few times) but it looks to me that there is hardly any roots on one side of that tree apart from one , as the tree was top heavy, there could have been a bit of wind to blow it over. have a look on the right hand side of the trunk and see what you think

11th April 2009, 08:54 AM	#2
Therrin Former Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bakersfield, Ca Posts: 2,497	Re: Looks like a euc to me that fell - soil failure? Hey, when your number's up, it's up....Don't fight it. Poor kid.

11th April 2009, 10:09 AM	#3
Sean Freeman Veteran Heritage Status Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Townsville Nth Queensland & Gold Coast Sth Queensland Posts: 1,981	Re: Looks like a euc to me that fell - soil failure? Windows are admittedly a weak point in house/building construction, however given the small distance of that tree to the edge of the home it really would have generated little momentum by the time it made contact, seems odd to me that the top plate (which in Oz would be a double thickness) over the top of the window would fail like that. Of course everything has its limits and fail it clearly has!....hope that the final outcome for the people inside is not the worst case scenario.

11th April 2009, 10:26 AM	#4
Apocalypsse Veteran Heritage Status Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Victoria, Australia Posts: 1,152	Re: Looks like a euc to me that fell - soil failure? Looks like they done the upstairs on the cheap, the bottom level is bricks or something.

11th April 2009, 01:01 PM	#5
Eric Frei Admin - Owner Palm & Tree Services in Brisbane Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,994	Re: Looks like a euc to me that fell - soil failure? Yeah but .... why did the tree fall? Looks sandy to me with a lot of roots going straight down not out. It seems to me for the size of the tree that the flare/buttresses were under-developed.... the tree roots going deeper in the sand rather than wider. __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Palm and Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

11th April 2009, 03:30 PM	#6
Sean Freeman Veteran Heritage Status Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Townsville Nth Queensland & Gold Coast Sth Queensland Posts: 1,981	Re: Looks like a euc to me that fell - soil failure? Tree probably buried, we are looking at the adventitious root system perhaps?

11th April 2009, 05:08 PM	#7
Eric Frei Admin - Owner Palm & Tree Services in Brisbane Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,994	Re: Looks like a euc to me that fell - soil failure? Highly possible, maybe 1m fill. If you look carefully at the pics there's some unusually large lateral roots 1m beneath the soil level of the tree. __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Palm and Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

11th April 2009, 10:17 PM	#8
phill ellison Mature tree Join Date: May 2008 Location: new zealand Posts: 450	Re: Looks like a euc to me that fell - soil failure? I may be wrong (have done a few times) but it looks to me that there is hardly any roots on one side of that tree apart from one , as the tree was top heavy, there could have been a bit of wind to blow it over. have a look on the right hand side of the trunk and see what you think

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