A couple from North Dakoda was killed by a falling tree crashing onto their rental house while visiting San Diego on Jan. 21.
The damaged house is located on the 4400 block of Santa Monica Avenue close to Ocean Beach. The pine tree, estimated to be 90 feet tall and over 50 years old, collapsed around 6:15 a.m. when strong winds hit the area.
High wind warnings were issued prior to the incident for the county’s mountain and desert area. The National Weather Service reported that wind gusts in the area reached up to 40 mph at the time.
“A week earlier, my husband had said the tree—if it ever falls—it’s going to be an issue,” local resident Jamie Campbell told Fox 5.
Torry pine trees are commonly seen in San Diego coastal communities but the roots of this tree were developing horizontally rather than growing down into the ground, reported Fox.
“It’s tragic. The tree is down and that’s sad for some of us, but many of us are happy. But the fact that these two individuals, unassuming people, I’m thinking were they’re just as friends or renting or whatever were victims, of the tree issue,” resident John Collom told Fox.
“They were just two peas in a pod,” Troy’s sister Reynolds told the Herald. “It is such a peace for us that they went together.”
Reynold also said Jessica’s brother, Ryan Langerud, was in the house when the incident happened. He was on the first floor and was rescued by the authorities without serious injuries.
“We’re trying to work with the property owners,” San Diego Police Lt. Christian Sharp said. “It’s really early in the investigation and it’s going to be a couple agencies that are going to be looking into this. Right now, this is looking like this is going to be a natural disaster sort of thing. It’s very tragic, unfortunately.”
The damaged house was listed as a vacation rental for $193 per night on VRBO.com with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a total area of 1,000 square feet, according to Fox.
The couple were both working as managers at Trojan Promotions, which is a promotional products firm, the company’s website shows. They came to San Diego for an industry trade show, one employee of the company told the Grand Forks Herald.
“Our hearts are incredibly heavy and we cannot even begin to express our condolences for their surviving family members,” the company said in a statement on Facebook. “That being said, we are fortunate that Troy & Jess built such a wonderful business and empowered all of us with the tools and knowledge required to take care of all of your marketing needs.”
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