CHARLOTTE — A north Charlotte woman said she is still shaken weeks after a massive tree suddenly crashed onto her car, and the car her daughter was driving right behind her, trapping them both in a frightening Easter Sunday ordeal.
Michael Amy Cira told Channel 9 she and her daughter had just returned home from what had been a perfect holiday spent with close friends. As they pulled onto their street, everything changed in seconds.
“I heard ‘crack, crack, crack’ really loud and then a boom,” Cira said.
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A large tree collapsed directly onto both vehicles. Cira said the only other sound she remembers was her daughter screaming.
Cira managed to escape her car, squeezing past live power lines that had come down with the tree. But when she turned around, she saw her daughter’s car crushed beneath the weight of the trunk.
The vehicle remains in the driveway weeks later, a stark reminder of how close the family came to tragedy.
“It was difficult seeing her trapped in there,” Cira said.
Cira called 911, and firefighters arrived quickly. She said they comforted her daughter as they worked to free her.
“She was holding onto the rearview mirror so tight. One of the firefighters asked, ‘Do you want to hold my hand?’ And she said yes,” Cira recalled.
Her daughter was taken to the hospital but, remarkably, was released within hours with no major injuries.
Even though both are now home, Cira said the emotional impact has been heavy.
Anxiety and fear linger, and losing both cars has made daily life more difficult as they search for replacements.
Still, she said the overwhelming feeling is gratitude.
“I’m just really grateful,” she said.