Photo via Twitter

Photo via Twitter

When D.C. Fire and EMS officials arrived at the scene of an accident yesterday, dozens of good samaritans were helping to lift a tree off a man’s car, a D.C. fire spokesperson told DCist. Once the tree was lifted, officials extricated the man from the vehicle and took him to a local hospital. He was suffering from life-threatening injuries.

The incident took place on Beach Drive, a road that runs through Rock Creek Park, around 6:30 p.m.

A U.S. Park Police officer arrived to the scene soon after the tree fell, WTOP reports. “The tree is pretty sizable, I’m not sure the officer would have been able to do it alone, adrenaline or not, so it really was critical that those people stopped and helped,” Anna Rose of the park police told WTOP. About 30 people helped with the rescue, Rose said.

The road remained closed until about 11:30 p.m. It’s unclear what caused the tree to fall, according to WTOP.

The crushed car can be seen in a video tweeted by the fire department.

Filed Under: beach drive, rock creek park, tree,