The white SUV crept forward in traffic. The driver had waited patiently on rain-soaked, two-laned State Route 52 in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. They gave the SUV in front of them plenty of space. As they came to another stop in the center frame of the gas station’s security camera, a huge dead tree perched up on the soft embankment suddenly swung down.

The driver pulled up mere inches past peril

Had the white SUV stopped even a couple of feet back, the large tree, known to tent campers as a “widwomaker,” would have surely crushed the motorist.

Instead, the dead tree fell across the rear seats, smashing the back half of the roof down completely.

The SUV’s front curtain airbags deployed. After several moments, the driver opens the door and steps out.

The driver hurries down the road to the car stopped in front of her. That motorist offers her some comfort and starts to call for help.

The “widowmaker” clearly totaled the SUV. Still, the random, natural event could have left the driver much, much worse off.

Yesterday, a similar phenomenon happened to a Chicago driver. The 61-year-old was heading west on Lyndale Street. While waiting to make a left turn, a tree came down on him. The Chicagoan said he couldn’t open the left front door, so he escaped out the right side. The fallen tree totaled the vehicle and damaged two others.