Callahan & Blaine

In tragic local news, after high winds ripped through Orange County on Monday, a woman identified as Dennet O. Bermas, 34, was killed when a 40-foot eucalyptus tree fell on top of her gray Toyota sedan.

Bermas was pronounced dead at the scene at just after 9 a.m., Orange County Sheriff’s Department information officer Carrie Braun said. Bermas lived at the apartment complex where the accident happened, according to Braun.

Bermas was pulling her car out of the apartment community’s carport on the 14000 block of Red Hill, when the tree fell onto the vehicle, crushing the car and downing power lines. Neighbors said they heard the snapping sound and rushed to help, but it is believed she was killed upon impact.

The powerful wind storm also caused a tree to fall on an 80-year-old Tustin woman, who was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. On Monday, high winds had been brought down trees and power lines all over Southern California.

Investigators are looking into the fatality. While winds are to blame, other aspects will be taken into consideration, such as whether or not the tree had been properly pruned by the property owner. Accidents like these often leave families with the right to pursue a claim. As one of the leading catastrophic personal injury law firms in California, Callahan & Blaine has obtained numerous record-breaking verdicts and settlements in cases like this, helping bring some small justice to the aggrieved family. If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury or died as the result of an accident, contact the best personal injury attorneys in Orange County for expert legal counsel.