A University of the Fraser Valley student was lucky to escape without serious injuries after winds blew a tree onto his car Tuesday afternoon.
Drew Winsor had just left classes at UFV and was driving north on Riverside Road when a gust of wind toppled a massive tree. Although telephone lines stopped the entire tree from hitting the ground, a six-inch-wide branch came down on the windshield of Winsor’s Hyundai sedan.
The limb impaled the windshield, but Winsor was able to escape relatively uninjured, with just bruising on his thigh area.
“I was driving and before I knew it, there was a branch in my windshield,” he said. “I’m just glad it didn’t go through my leg.”
“I saw the tree kind of tilting down and I was like, ‘Okay…’ and then there was a branch in there.'”
A fire truck was passing as Winsor’s car was struck, and he credited them for their quick help.
Wind speeds gusted up to to 71 kilometres per hour at 9 a.m. this morning at the Abbotsford Airport, according to Environment Canada. Strong northeast winds are expected to continue until Wednesday evening.
Power was cut at Ten-Broeck Elementary until about 10:30 this morning, with firefighters attending and children kept inside for their safety. Multiple trees fell on roads, and in one case a car was damaged from driving into downed branches.
As of 11 a.m., BC Hydro was reporting only one power outage in the Abbotsford area, encompassing a very small portion of Fadden Road on Sumas Prairie. There are also localized outages in the Mission and Chilliwack areas.
Photos below: Drew Winsor beside his car; a commercial truck tent blown over by today’s high winds.
