San Jacinto man nearly killed by fallen tree during intense winds

A father of four in San Jacinto was nearly killed after intense winds knocked down part of a tree and crushed him on Saturday.

"He's broken, but he's going to be great," said Alexandra Roldan, mother of the victim, Ricky Roldan. 

Roldan's son was cleaning up his kids' toys in his backyard last weekend when the winds suddenly picked up and broke off the part of the tree that crushed him.

"He said he heard something," Alexandra said. "When he looked up, that's when it fell on him."

The tree landed on Ricky's back, breaking several vertebrae and ribs and pinning him to the ground. His wife Erica rushed out of their home to help him. The part of the tree was at least 20 feet long. 

"She tries to lift it up, but it's too heavy," Alexandra said. "She runs out in a panic to the neighbors, and she sees nobody. She runs back and picks up the tree. So my son was able to crawl out."

Erica quickly called 911 after freeing her husband.

Paramedics rushed Ricky to a local hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to save his life. 

"Right before he went into heart surgery, he told his sister, 'Please take care of my family. I'm not going to make it,'" Alexandra said. 

Several surgeries later, Ricky made it out alive and is now in recovery at a Moreno Valley hospital. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery. 

"Life is too short. Let the people you know that you love them," Alexandra said. "Let them know you love them."