Moment couple cheat death when massive 200ft sequoia tree smashes onto their car as they drive through forest in California
- Travis Rhodes and his girlfriend Nydia Garcia were driving through a forest
- They were passing through the famous Sequoia National Forest in California
- The giant tree smashed into the roof of the couple’s car without any warning
This was the shocking moment a couple driving through the Sequoia National Forest in California escaped death after what is described to be a ‘200-foot’ tree fell into the road while they were driving.
Dashcam footage from January 20 shows the incident where a tree collapses into the road and lands on the car, which was driving through the Trail of 100 Giants.
Additional footage shows the aftermath of the severely damaged car, which shows how lucky the couple were to escape death or serious injury.
This is the moment a tree falls over in the Sequoia National Forest in California before crushing a car containing Travis Rhodes and his girlfriend Nydia Garcia
The giant tree lands on Mr Rhodes’ car, badly damaging its roof
Travis Rhodes and his girlfriend, Nydia Garcia, are lucky to be alive as he reacted quickly and sped up as fast as he could to avoid a worse fate.
He explained in detail: ‘My girlfriend and I went on a scenic drive through the Sequoias late last month.
‘While driving back home, we had just passed the Trail of 100 Giants and about 10 to 15 minutes down the road I was making a left-hand turn keeping my eyes on the road because there were so many patches of ice on the roadway.
‘In the camera view it appears you can see the tree falling from a long distance but what people need to consider is the fact not only is it a wide-angle lens, but also it’s posted directly at the top of my window so the view it sees is way more than the view I see.
‘As I was making the turn and watching for the ice on the road I first noticed tree branches falling into my lane so I figured I was just avoiding some tree branches that were falling until the split last second when I saw the tree in my view and realized it was more than just a tree branch.
‘In the split second, I knew it was either coming down on us or my only option was to floor it.
The large tree damaged the rear section of the car’s roof and popped its sunroof
‘Now obviously I don’t have some race car so it’s not like I’m going 0 to 60 in a split millisecond, but just a few miles per hour faster I went swerving over; this is why my girlfriend and I are still here.
‘The tree smashed in less than two inches behind her head and then I’m 6’2’ so I sit higher and further back so I ended up taking all the glass from the roof to my head but thankfully in all this we both walked away mainly just extremely sore.
‘Also I am at a complete loss on the car but all I honestly care about is that my girlfriend and I are alive and here to tell the story.’