LAKE BARCROFT, Va. β It's been more than a week, yet still, giant chunks of tree trunk remain embedded in a car in Lake Barcroft.
The tree fell, according to neighbors, around 6 p.m. last Tuesday.
"I started hearing the tree crackling," said Alexis. He was walking out of his home near the intersection of Lakewood Drive and Maplewood Drive when he noticed the ground was shaking.
"I just started walking backward as I saw the tree coming down," he told WUSA9.
He watched in horror as the tree came crashing down onto his car, tearing down power lines and hitting several cars parked across the street.
"[The] tree came from here, took out all the cables, and fell down to the other side of the road," said Alexis as he pointed out the path the tree took.
He says he and his family were headed to church, and had this happened just moments later, this could have been much worse.
"If I was out here 30 seconds before, it would have probably been a different story for me and my family," he said.
He told WUSA9 that first responders arrived quickly, and luckily no one was injured, but several vehicles were destroyed.
He says crews from VDOT also responded and removed chunks of the tree from out of the roadway, but didn't touch the pieces in his yard or on any of the vehicles.
"That was pretty shocking to me that they only were in charge of cleaning up the road and not our properties, but that's up to our insurances," explained Alexis.
A spokesperson for VDOT told WUSA9 Tuesday night that "while they will go and clean up any debris in the roads or our right of way, if it's beyond the road, it would fall to the property owner such as a homeowner or business, or the homeowners association".
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They said anyone who ever comes across trees or debris in the roadway, can report it to 1-800-FOR-ROAD or by clicking here.
If a tree falls on your home, Fairfax County officials say these are the steps you should take.
As he waits for estimates on repairs and removal of the debris, Alexis told WUSA9 he's just grateful things weren't worse.
βAll the damaged property can be fixed or replaced; not to worry, but human life canβt be replaced. This shows how precious life is and how life canβt go in a flash because of something like this. People should always be alert if anything seems out of sorts. Iβm still lost for words because of this happening to me, my family, and our community. Iβm so grateful that my family and I are still alive," he said.