Tree Impales Woman's Thigh During Storm: Authorities

(Updated at 8:40 p.m.) ANNAPOLIS, MD — A woman is in an area hospital with serious injuries after a tree branch crashed through the window of her vehicle and impaled her thigh Wednesday afternoon as storms and high winds swept through the Annapolis area, according to emergency authorities. The mishap occurred about 2:15 p.m. in the 2600 block of Carrollton Road when a tree fell onto the Honda Civic that Briana Clark's boyfriend was driving.

The couple were leaving an area beach where they had flown kites, trying to get ahead of the incoming storm. In an instant, Clark, 20, was pinned in place by the tree branch, worried that she might not survive.

“I just hoped I wasn’t going to get a fake leg, and I was wondering if I was going to lose too much blood,” Clark told WUSA.

Clark, who is in serious condition, told WUSA that the branch narrowly missed piercing her femoral artery, which would likely have proved fatal.

Firefighters from Anne Arundel County and Annapolis City say a tree fell in front of the vehicle traveling on Carrollton Road and a branch about two inches in diameter came through the windshield and impaled the woman.

According to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, rescuers worked with hand tools and hydraulic extrication equipment for nearly 45 minutes to cut the branch and remove the woman from the vehicle.

Paramedics took Clark to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center with injuries that were serious, but not believed to be life-threatening, the fire department said.

County fire officials said that Wednesday afternoon firefighters responded to at least 25 calls related to the storms. The calls included 19 incidents for power lines that were down, and six service calls for trees down. Most of the incidents occurred in the area of the county south of Annapolis.

»Patch file photo