DEL NORTE COUNTY, Calif. — The parents of five children died last week near Crescent City in Northern California when a giant redwood tree fell on their vehicle, according to CHP and a GoFundMe page.
A 36-year-old man and 45-year-old woman were traveling south on Highway 199 in Del Norte County, a region known for its massive redwoods, when the tree uprooted and crushed the couple, KTLA reported.
A GoFundMe for the family in mourning identified the victims as Jessica and Jake Woodruff.
“It’s the most unusual incident I’ve seen in my 19-year career,” said Brandy Gonzalez, a public information officer with the California Highway Patrol in Crescent City.
It appears the tree uprooted from natural erosion around the foundation, according to Gonzalez.
“We’re very prone to Mother Nature in this area,” she said. “We do have trees come across lanes sometimes, and we think, ‘Luckily it didn’t hurt anybody.’”
“The timing in this case was just crazy,” Gonzalez added.
The parents of 5 children died last week when a redwood tree fell on their vehicle on a NorCal highway near Crescent City https://t.co/YKZWP2pmDe
— KTLA (@KTLA) March 29, 2021
According to the fundraising page, the Woodruffs were parents to five children and were taking a road trip up the coast to celebrate Jessica Woodruff’s 45th birthday, an annual tradition.
“This was a shocking and unexpected event, and the tragedy of this accident makes it difficult to accept as real,” the page’s author wrote.
The campaign described the family as tight-knit and said the children were “facing the devastating reality of what was just ripped from their lives in a split second.”