Tree falls in wind, damages 3 cars in Parsippany

PARSIPPANY - Three cars were damaged Wednesday morning when a tree fell into a parking lot in the Mack-Cali corporate campus.

The tree snapped at the trunk at about 11:30 a.m., toppled over a Dumpster and splintered when it hit three cars parks near the back entrance to 7 Century Drive. High winds on an otherwise sunny, mild February morning likely caused the tree to come down.

"Where I work, the window's right there, and one of my coworkers said they heard the tree fall, but I didn't even look out the window," said Tamara Segarra of Wharton. "Then she asked me, 'What car are you driving?' So I looked and saw my car got hit."

Segarra's husband, Aaron, came from Pennsylvania to help her assess the damage to her 2007 Ford Taurus, which included a splintered windshield and scratches and dents to the hood and both front quarter panels.

"I usually park over there, but I came I early and parked here," Tamara Segarra said, pointing to a farther corner of the lot, then pointing to her car, which was in a spot closer to the entrance.

Her Taurus took the brunt of the blow, she said, but she added that one of the other cars involved, which had been removed by 12:30 p.m., sustained heavy damage to its hood.

At 1 p.m., the trunk of the tree was still resting over the Dumpster. The trunk snapped about a foot from the ground.

"It could have been worse, someone could have been badly hurt," Tamara Segarra said.

Township police came to take a report. The windshield damage was sufficient to prevent driving the car from the scene, so the couple arranged to have it towed to a repair shop.

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GqnnettNJ.com.