On wild weather day, tree topples over on cars in Holladay

HOLLADAY — On a wild weather day in Utah that saw snow, rain, hail, high winds and sunshine—sometimes all within the span of 15 minutes—a large tree came down and damaged multiple cars.

Witnesses said the tree in the parking lot of The Cotton Bottom, 2820 East 6200 South, came down suddenly after powerful wind gusts barraged the area Tuesday afternoon and evening.

“Next thing I know, I see this 40-foot tree careening down just on top of all these cars,” Bear Hansen, who works as a valet at a neighboring establishment, said.

Surveillance video from The Cotton Bottom captured the tree as it fell.

Troy Aldrich had just gone inside after a long day only to be alerted by the valet about what had happened. He came out to find his Mazda CX-5 smashed.

“(I) pulled in the parking lot and I was the only car in the parking lot, so just happened to choose that spot and we ended up in this scenario,” Aldrich said. “What else can you do, you know.”

Workers from a tree removal service quickly moved in and cut the tree into pieces before using heavy-duty equipment to lift the majority of the trunk off of the remaining vehicles pinned beneath the tree.

According to the workers, it appeared to be something of an isolated event in the area.

Aldrich wasn’t optimistic about how his car fared from the impact.

“Anytime there’s this type of damage on the frame, though, it’s done,” he said as he went to remove the contents from his car. “(I’m) just going to shop for a new car now, so excited for that.”