Child hurt after rotting laurel oak tree crashes down on 2 vehicles near Orlando

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A frightening crash on an Orlando road sent a child to a hospital after a large tree came crashing down onto two passing cars.

It happened Saturday afternoon around 1 p.m. along South Crystal Lake Drive, just north of Michigan Street.

This is another recent case of an old laurel oak tree falling onto a car. Earlier this month, a laurel oak fell on a police car.

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This type of tree is prone to toppling because of how they rot inside, which is exactly what happened here.

After one of this tree's large branches fell on top of the cars, crews worked to remove the whole thing.

Pictures from the Orange County Fire Rescue Department show the large branch that fell was the size of some tree trunks.

Firefighters cut up that branch, and then a county worker came out and decided the rest of the tree was too dangerous to keep.

Neighbors who heard and saw the large branch falling agree the tree needs to go.

“I heard a loud, like popping noise,” said witness Antonio Castillo. “I was outside in the backyard, and the entire branch just fell and then screeching tires. Somebody started yelling, ‘Help! Help!’”

According to a neighbor, the tree is about 60 years old and laurel oaks only live for about 50 to 70 years.

Just because they look green and healthy from the outside doesn't mean they're not rotting on the inside.

Once they rot, they could fall at any time, which is why it's important to get them checked and removed once they start nearing the end of their life spans.

UPDATE: Crews contracted by the county WILL be removing the whole tree today because it's considered dangerous by the county. They just finished cutting away limbs. They will be blocking Crystal Lake Drive for at least a couple more hours. pic.twitter.com/L1mWDt1bqw
— Deanna Allbrittin (@deannaTVnews) May 25, 2019

This laurel oak tree fell on cars driving down Crystal Lake Drive near E Michigan St just before 1:00 today. A child was hurt and taken to the hospital. Now crews have shut down the road to clear debris and possibly take the whole tree down. pic.twitter.com/lehmx0r4aT
— Deanna Allbrittin (@deannaTVnews) May 25, 2019

#TreeDown: Scary moments for motorists when a tree fell into the road on Crystal Lake Dr around 1 pm today. 2 vehicles were struck. Rescue 72 transported one child who was injured. Crews report tree appeared old and likely rotted. Thanks Eng72 for clearing the debris from road. pic.twitter.com/V8S2J8j0IT
— OCFire Rescue (@OCFireRescue) May 25, 2019