Updated at 10:15 a.m., Monday, January 14, 2008
Motorists escape injury as trees fall on Pali - video
By Dave Dondoneau
Advertiser Staff Writer
All were treated and released at the scene.
See scenes from the Pali in this ADVERTISER VIDEO.
"One of the passengers in the pickup was a little shaken up, he said the tree just missed him," Lt. Stan Lum of the police department said. "They all saw it falling about 25 feet in front of them and couldn't stop. It landed right on them. They were in the left lane. The other car was in the center lane and the tree just missed its window.
"Luckily it was in the Kailua-bound direction and not town-bound for the morning traffic."
The trees were cleared shortly before 6 a.m.
Lum said the first tree fell near the tunnels right after 1 a.m. Police officers were able to clear one lane, but less than a half-hour later the large tree, at least 3 to 4 feet in diameter at its base, fell just past Waokanaka Street. It was so large it knocked the street lamp off its post on the other side of the highway and blocked all three lanes.
The four men in the truck were returning home to Waiamanlo. Both vehicles needed to be towed from the scene, Lum said, and firefighters were called to wash down the area from fuel spills.
