Mother, 2-year-old rescued from vehicle trapped under a tree

ORONO — A large tree branch fell onto a Jeep Grand Cherokee on Main Street around 4 p.m. Sunday, crushing the roof of the vehicle and trapping two people inside, Orono Police Department Chief Josh Ewing said.

Ewing believes the vehicle was moving when the branch fell, but he was not certain.

A man was able to get out of the Jeep, but his wife and her 2-year-old child could not, according to Ewing. The Orono Fire Department arrived on the scene and cut pieces of the branch off the car to successfully extricate the woman and child.

They were taken to a hospital and Ewing did not know their condition.

“From what I understand, there was heavy rain and hail at the time,” said Ewing. He said he suspects those conditions caused the branch to fall. No one was trying to cut the branch down, he said.

The Jeep is a total loss and was towed from the scene at 4:40 p.m..

Main Street was closed between Island Avenue and Mill Street. Ewing said at 5:30 p.m. that the street would be closed for several more hours.

He added that authorities were trying to get a tree expert on the scene to inspect the tree and determine if the whole thing needed to be cut down.