28-Year-Old Lanham Man Killed In Freak Accident When Tree Falls On Moving Car: Report

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A freak accident along busy Suitland Parkway near Meadowview Drive Saturday morning has claimed the life of a 28-year-old man.

Deandre Coleman was with his father Carlos Williams when a tree fell on their moving vehicle. Williams was driving; Coleman was a passenger.

"Next thing I know, I was up in the woods with branches and glass all in my face with the roof caved in, in the woods," Williams told FOX5DC, adding that he and Coleman were headed to the barbershop. "I said, ‘How is my son doing?’ and the paramedic just shook his head and said, ‘He didn’t make it,’ and it was just like a nightmare. I didn’t know what happened."

Coleman's death has left an aching hole not only in his family but in his community of Lanham where everyone was found of the man who lived with Down syndrome.

"He always wanted to look out for everyone. He loved kids. He wanted to always take care of people," said mom LaTonya Coleman. "He didn’t deserve to die this way. That was my baby."

"I want him to be remembered as a great person because he was the best person I ever met," added Williams, who said he was concussed and suffered a fracture in his neck because of the crash.

FOX5DC shared that it reached out to the National Park Service regarding the trees that line Suitland Parkway. An NPS spokesperson said they conduct regular tree inspections there, including in the Meadowview Drive area. The spokesperson added that when hazardous trees are identified, they remove them, and will continue to do so with any trees that appear to pose a risk, FOX5DC reported.