Oak tree falls, crushing 5 cars in Old Agoura




WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers TOTALED—Agoura Hills resident Connie Cunningham tries to get a closer look at her 1985 Chrysler LeBaron as it sits under the branch of an oak tree that fell the morning of June 18 outside her apartment complex on Colodny Street. The large branch broke off around 7:30 a.m. and came crashing down, damaging five cars parked underneath it.

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers TOTALED—Agoura Hills resident Connie Cunningham tries to get a closer look at her 1985 Chrysler LeBaron as it sits under the branch of an oak tree that fell the morning of June 18 outside her apartment complex on Colodny Street. The large branch broke off around 7:30 a.m. and came crashing down, damaging five cars parked underneath it.


A large limb fell from an oak tree June 18, destroying five cars on Colodny Street in Old Agoura.

The oak tree is on a private, vacant lot at 5323 Colodny St., owned by Gerard Marenghi of Los Angeles.

Connie Cunningham said she parked her car in the vacant lot because parking spaces are difficult to find near the apartment complex where she has lived for 14 years.

“It’s a pancake,” Cunningham said of her 1985 LeBaron that was never used and was not insured.

Cunningham’s car was one of five cars lined up under the unstable tree limb.

City engineer Ramiro Adeva said he initially thought that the fallen tree was in the public right of way. Officials were sent to investigate and make sure people were not trapped or hurt.

“The large limb had fallen on four or five cars, and (it) was difficult to see some of the cars due to the amount of leaves and branches,” Adeva said in his report to the city manager.

The “sudden limb drop” prompted an evaluation of the tree’s health by a local arborist contracted with the city. The owner, Adeva said, could either remove the tree or commit to keeping it properly pruned to avoid future accidents.

“Because the limb was blocking most of the driveway, the number of children that play in the area, to confirm nobody was underneath and as a courtesy, (I) approved the city’s tree crew to be called in to cut and remove the limb, with the intent to back-charge the property owner,” Adeva wrote. “A letter will also be sent with the invoice recommending the owner have the tree evaluated by his own consultant and to contact the city’s oak tree consultant regarding a permit.”

Councilmember John Edelston said the city will not be responsible for the damage since the tree was on private land.

“There are many oak trees in the city that are on public and private property,” Edelston said. “As they age, they become more fragile and hold potential danger.”

He said that the giant limbs of oak trees “weigh tons. If somebody was in the car it’s potentially lethal. People in the city and residents need to be watchful.”

As for liability, homeowners with oak trees that extend into public areas are legally responsible, Adeva said in his report. But people who were parked on private property without insurance may have a tough time recouping any damages, he said.

“The city doesn’t have legal right to do anything,” Edelston said. “There are so many oak trees (in the city), I don’t know if we have the resources to police all of them.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *