Tree Nearly Crushes Two in Cedar Rapids

Two people were nearly crushed by a tree while driving down 1st Ave in Cedar Rapids, Saturday morning.

The two were driving toward downtown, when a strong gust of wind snapped a tree near 1st Ave and 17th Street. The tree smashed the engine of the SUV, narrowly missing the passengers inside.

Police said the two were taken to the hospital as a precaution with minor injuries.

Vanessa Smith works at the Iowa Eye Center nearby. She saw it happen.

"There was a crack, a gust of wind and there was the tree on the road on 1st Ave,” said Smith. “Who would have believed it?"

Meteorologists said gusts got up to around 58 miles per hour, Saturday morning. When it comes to wind, that's the threshold for the National Weather Service to issue a severe thunderstorm warning.