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On Friday night about 7:55 pm residents near Arroyo Park on Marmion Way in South Pasadena reported hearing a loud “crashing thud” sound outside. The strange noise was made by a tree falling on a moving car in traffic on the Los Angeles side of the Arroyo Seco Park.
The driver was shaken up, but did not report any injuries at the time. He was able to escape from his car before fire & rescue arrived.
The Marmion Way exit off the 110 freeway empties cars onto Marmion Way at near freeway speeds – this was a problem. With the Westbound lane fully blocked, some impatient drivers narrowly missed head-on collisions with exiting freeway traffic.
The South Pasadena fire department was the first of the emergency services to arrive, but stopped at the border of South Pasadena Los Angeles as per operational protocol. They checked out the driver to ensure he was okay and assisted with traffic control until South Pasadena Police units arrived.
According to SPPD on the scene, Hollenbeck dispatch was contacted to cover was is their jurisdiction. Over an hour later: no emergency crews had arrived from the Los Angeles area.
LAPD units did arrive to take over traffic control after some time, but only setup cones and flairs to divert traffic at the top of the street some 300 feet away.
As of 11:30 pm, car and tree remain in place in the street – the driver patiently waiting for assistance accompanied by South Pasadena Police units until Los Angeles crews arrive.
