1 Dead After Tree Falls Onto Home, Trapping Elderly Couple In Their Bed
By David Madden
BROOMALL, Pa. (CBS) -- One person is dead, another hospitalized after a tree crashed into their Delaware County bedroom Friday morning.
Crews were alerted to the incident on James Road by a neighbor who heard the tree come down and people screaming inside, although an investigation suggests the couple might have been trapped for up to two hours before the initial call was made to 9-1-1 dispatchers.
"When we got here, we went into the second floor bedroom, found a tree into the house, two people trapped in their bed," Carl Drake, an incident commander with the Broomall Fire Department told KYW Newsradio.
It took 70 minutes to bring in a crane to lift the tree from atop the elderly couple.
Seventy-nine-year-old Alan Cooper was flown to Presbyterian Hospital. His 77-year-old wife, Marjay, was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy.
As to whether the wet morning snow played a factor in bringing the tree down, that is part of the ongoing investigation.
Code inspectors are also looking into the structural integrity of the residence.