What happened on Prospect now??

Aside from the recent incident by Jennifer, there was an ambulance with someone on the ground with a stretcher just off SA, and minutes later it's closed off with several emergency vehicles just past the Crescents.

Car ran the stop sign at Prospect and Oakview and plowed into two cars traveling on Prospect that were passing through the intersection at the same time.  Minor injuries.  Street has been reopened.  

Thanks, Joan.  Glad injuries were minor.  Hopefully the same up by SA as well.

Just saw that five minutes ago and checked here.  Funny that it's my same post from two months ago, but still applies.

I thought this was going to be about the downed tree from earlier today, but I guess not ...

Where was the downed tree, sac?

Prospect between Tuscan and Harvard.  Fell last night in the wind.

...and don't call me sac.

Between Tuscan and Harvard.  Prospect was closed at those intersections all day.  (The last time I was near there, at about 4:00, it was still closed.)

That's a long time to cut up a tree...

max_weisenfeld said:

...and don't call me sac.

Work is being done on the power lines.

The trees along that stretch of Prospect are pretty big.  I just hope nobody was hurt when the tree fell.

There was a loss of power in that vicinity at about 3:00 am yesterday.  Power was restored pretty quickly.  I assume a temporary fix to the power lines was made overnight and that more permanent work was being done during daylight hours.  

I drove by today and the trunk pieces are huge!

Max - marylago's post mentioning me was right after a post I made about it.

I did notice today that the huge tree really overhanging Prospect by the corner was gone.  Thank God for that.

Two huge trees, directly across Prospect from each other were being removed when I went past this morning. Having seen this, I now suspect that the power outage so many of us experienced was planned to enable workers to clear the trees from the the power lines in safety.  

sac said:

I drove by today and the trunk pieces are huge!

On my way home from shopping I saw the huge chunks and the utility trucks. Thank goodness no one was hurt.

Since the trees were rooted in the yard of a homeowner, would they be responsible for cost of removal after an accident like this? I assume that the fact they didn't remove them when they were obviously a hazard meant that cost was an issue. As homeowners are we liable for damages to town property if our tree falls and damages powerlines? Or does the town need to intervene if the homeowner can't afford to?

I think that the homeowner would have to have been noticed, in writing, by whomever that their tree was dangerous in order for them to be held liable. Maplewood code enforcement could do that, but if there was no evidence that the tree was a hazard, it's the responsibility of the owner of the property that got damaged. At least that's what my insurance company told me.

If your tree falls and does damage to your home or a neighbors home, I think homeowners insurance steps in. The same tree that falls and does no property damage becomes the responsibility of the homeowner. I'm thinking that this concept would extend to utility lines although the utility may see it as the cost of doing business and not look for reimbursement.

We had a large oak tree which from the outside looked perfectly healthy, which fell down across a major road during a perfectly calm summer night. When we had the remainder removed, the tree removal company discovered it had been struck by lightening right through the middle of the tree with no outward signs of injury! So its not always easy to spot that a tree is unhealthy. It was also pretty traumatic for us to have this fall on the road, and we were just so thankful no-one was injured. 

georgieboy said:

If your tree falls and does damage to your home or a neighbors home, I think homeowners insurance steps in. The same tree that falls and does no property damage becomes the responsibility of the homeowner. I'm thinking that this concept would extend to utility lines although the utility may see it as the cost of doing business and not look for reimbursement.

I'm fairly certain that your homeowners would cover your home and their homeowners, theirs. 

marylago said:

georgieboy said:

If your tree falls and does damage to your home or a neighbors home, I think homeowners insurance steps in. The same tree that falls and does no property damage becomes the responsibility of the homeowner. I'm thinking that this concept would extend to utility lines although the utility may see it as the cost of doing business and not look for reimbursement.

I'm fairly certain that your homeowners would cover your home and their homeowners, theirs. 

yes, I'm sure this is correct.  

I think then the neighbor's insurance company would go after your insurance company for some reimbursement.

yahooyahoo said:

I think then the neighbor's insurance company would go after your insurance company for some reimbursement.

Doesn't work that way. Your homeowners covers damage to your home, unless the tree-owning homeowner has been noticed of a dangerous tree (or other issue).

marylago said:

yahooyahoo said:

I think then the neighbor's insurance company would go after your insurance company for some reimbursement.

Doesn't work that way. Your homeowners covers damage to your home, unless the tree-owning homeowner has been noticed of a dangerous tree (or other issue).

max_weisenfeld said:

marylago said:

yahooyahoo said:

I think then the neighbor's insurance company would go after your insurance company for some reimbursement.

Doesn't work that way. Your homeowners covers damage to your home, unless the tree-owning homeowner has been noticed of a dangerous tree (or other issue).

This.  I speak from experiece

This is what we were told also when a tree that was (partly) in our yard fell on a neighbor's property and caused damage.  (We wanted our insurance to pay, but they said that would only have happened if the neighbors had previously sent a certified letter informing us that the tree was a hazard and we needed to have it removed or remedied and then we had ignored it.)