A massive tree collapsed, crushing one car and damaging others and shutting down Jordan Avenue in Canoga Park for more than 16 hours after rain pummeled the area.
Resident David Smock called 911 after he heard the collapse.
"You know when you throw glass bottles in a big bin? It was a big crash. That's what it reminded me of," Smock said.
Soon after the crash, firefighters arrived in the neighborhood, and made sure no one was trapped.
Like others, Smock said he saw the collapse coming.
"It's been like that for a while," he said "The tree’s been leaning like that for a couple of years and the water, I guess, the weight pulled it down."
The tree fell Tuesday night, and continued to block the street Wednesday morning as crews worked to break it up to remove it.
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Crew workers said it could have been felled by a combination of age and the rain.
"As you can see it's a big tree, probably 40 to 50 feet high, 4 to 5 in diameter," said Tony Lopez, a neighbor who also works for a tree cutting service. "The roots are 5 to 6 feet and they lifted the concrete."
Lopez said he also noticed the tree was leaning, and decided not to park near it.
"I was lucky, too, because I was about to park right here and decide to park behind the car over there because I noticed one day this tree is going to go down," he said.
