100-Year Old Oak Tree Falls on Russell Road’s Thanksgiving, and Thankfully, No One Hurt
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Tracey Cain was in Ohio visiting family when her husband Patrick McLaughlin called from their home at 2912 Russell Road this morning at 3 am.
“The big tree in the front yard just fell down. It’s blocking the whole road. It’s pulled down a power line, and now it looks like no Thanksgiving for Russell Road,” was the news.
“No one was hurt, and not even a car was struck, but Patrick’s heart is broken,” said Tracey. “He was planning to take his 100-year old dad to the family Thanksgiving in Richmond. They are blocked in now, and can’t go.”
At around 3 am, there was a thunderous crash as winds yanked and uprooted a century-old oak tree from the ground near the Cain/McLaughlin driveway. The more than 90-foot tree knocked out a power line and both it and the tree lay spanned across Russell Road when Alexandria City sent out an eNews email at 3:25 am, saying, “Russell Road between Monticello Boulevard and MacArthur Road is closed due to tree and power lines down.”
Dominion Power employees are hard at work restoring power and developing a plan to extricate the tree to restore passage as soon as possible.