Car That Survived Hurricane Katrina Hardly Damaged After Tree Falls On It

OAK FOREST, IL - The 1996 Ford Escort owned by lifelong Oak Forest resident Marissa Melvan is not your everyday old car. It has made it through a number of situations and its quirks have helped it develop its own personality.

"It really has a life of its own," said Melvan, who claims the car's horn randomly goes off during the summertime between 10:30 a.m. and noon and does not have a properly functioning gas tank indicator.

Melvan has owned the car for four years, but said it withstood its toughest test when a previous owner from the Gulf region saw it survive Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It sustained some salt water damage, but had its engine revamped and was good to go.

Now, nearly 12 years later, it has withstood the fall of a tree with hardly a scratch on it.

"To my surprise, there really isn't that much damage," said Melvan, who noted that only two dents remained on Tuesday after the full force of a large tree came hammering down on it when parked near Adeline Place and Natalie Drive in Oak Forest during the overnight storms Tuesday morning.

"I was able to drive it to and from work," she said. "While I was driving I did see some twigs fall out of it, but nothing too bad."

No broken windows, no mechanical malfunctions.

What may be even more surprising than the car's cat-like ability to avoid major damage is that no one in Melvan's household heard the assumed crash when the tree toppled over the car.

Her mother was the first to see what happened. She awoke at 4:20 a.m. and said the incident must have occurred between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. A few branches had to be broken before anyone could get to the car.

Which started immediately.

Melvan said she didn't find out about the damage herself until she checked Facebook in the morning and saw her father post a photo of what happened.

"I thought to myself... that's my car!"

The photo only showed part of the tree on the car, so Melvan was still surprised to see the extent of the tree's fall.

"I was picturing in my head maybe just a branch, but I go out there and see the whole tree on the lawn," she said.

The tree belongs to a neighbor, Melvan said, and it has been there ever since the family has lived at the residence.

"It was an old tree and was dying," she said. "We have always been afraid some branches were going to fall, but we never expected the whole tree to fall."

But while the tree came to its demise after many years, the car is moving on to its next brush with excitement.

"We call (the car) Ariel because of Hurricane Katrina," Melvan said. "It's sitting outside with just a couple of dents."

Photos by Todd Sherman / Northern Illinois FireGround Photos