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A woman in Rockaway had a close call when a tree fell near her home, narrowly missing her and her dog. Shannon Leahy, who works as a nurse at Morristown Medical Center, shared the incident with News 12. She was preparing to leave for work around 6:30 a.m. on Monday (March 24) when her dogs began barking, prompting her to take them outside again.
As Leahy was outside, she heard a crack and saw the tree starting to tip. "When I noticed the tree starting to tip, I took off and realized how lucky I actually was," she told ABC7NY. The tree landed in her porch area, missing her, her vehicle, and her home. Fortunately, only a concrete paver was damaged.
Leahy's daughter was safely inside the house, and her dogs were out of harm's way. Remarkably, Leahy had parked her car further away from the house than usual the night before, sparing it from any damage.
Reflecting on the incident, Leahy expressed gratitude for her safety and the unexpected windfall of firewood. "I ran out of my firewood around January because this winter has been so cold," she said. Now, she plans to chop the tree into sections to use for heating her home.