The City of Surrey will be removing eight dead trees along Croydon Drive in South Surrey this week, after being alerted to one that fell on a woman’s SUV last Tuesday.
Parks manager Neal Aven confirmed Monday that the at-risk trees were identified during an assessment undertaken Friday between 28 and 30 Avenues.
The removal is to be completed “early this week,” Aven said.
And Linda Simpson – who was at the wheel of the subject SUV – says she will be steering clear of the thoroughfare until the work is done.
“I’m going to keep all my family off that road… in the interim,” Simpson said Monday.
The assessment was triggered after Simpson reported the harrowing event she and her granddaughters experienced on Nov. 12.
READ MORE: Falling tree crushes front of SUV carrying South Surrey woman, granddaughters
Simpson was driving south in the 3000-block of Croydon with 10-year-old Chloe and seven-year-old Elise in the back seat of her Hyundai Tucson when a large tree toppled onto her vehicle.
Warning of the impending danger was so minimal, Simpson said she all she could do was hit the brakes and hope to stop quickly enough that the tree would simply fall in front of her Tucson.
It landed, however, on the hood of the vehicle. The impact shattered the windshield – sending glass into Simpson’s face – with one branch penetrating the radiator. Tree and vehicle debris was scattered across the roadway.
Simpson on Monday was surprised to hear just how many trees were dead along the stretch of road.
“Oh my gosh,” she said, when Peace Arch News shared Aven’s update.
She said she hopes others drivers will also avoid Croydon until the work is done.
In addition to pledging her own avoidance, Simpson reiterated how grateful she is for the kindness of strangers who came to her family’s aid in the aftermath of the incident.
“It was just amazing,” she said. “There’s a lot of good people out there.”
tholmes@peacearchnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
