A large tree fell on Friday afternoon across a road in a north Raleigh neighborhood, crushing a parked car.
Sky 5 saw a blue Tesla underneath the tree on Fiesta Way near the Woodmere Hills neighborhood.
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Danny Wilder, who owns the Tesla, said he and his daughter only learned about the tree when a neighbor knocked on their door.
"It was pretty cool to see, and I was like, 'Dang, that's a really big tree that came down," Wilder said.
Neighbors told WRAL News that no one was hurt.
"I was just so grateful that no one was hurt," Wilder said. "This is a heavily-traveled sidewalk. A lot of cars go by. This would have definitely been fatal for somebody."
While it's unclear what caused the tree to fall, trees are more likely to fall if the soil underneath is saturated from rainfall.
Much of central North Carolina was hammered by flooding from Tropical Depression Chantal on Sunday and more severe storms during the week.
"The trees have obviously been through a lot recently," said Basil Camu with Leaf and Limb Tree Care in Raleigh. "Precarious position and gravity has been working on it slowly throughout the day."
Camu said taking care of trees comes down to three things:
- Pruning to improve the structure and strength of the tree.
- Improving the soil around the tree with leaves and compost.
- Leaving the roots alone. Don't dig into the tree base with a bulldozer or trenches.
"If you do those three things, the tree is probably going to be in excellent health," Camu said.
Camu also recommends calling a tree company if a tree is leaning in a way you're not used to seeing or if you see roots sticking out from the backside.