Tree falls on woman walking to car after storms, killing her

NEW MILFORD (AP) — A tree split in half after a night of heavy rain and fell on a woman walking to her car Wednesday, killing her, authorities said.

The Norwood maple tree that struck 21-year-old Michelle Mian was likely damaged during the overnight storms, New Milford police Detective Lt. Brian Long told The Record.

Authorities say family members saw the tree lying over four vehicles when they awoke Wednesday. Mian's 23-year-old sister, Tabish, told the newspaper that she found her younger sibling on the ground outside when she went to check on the vehicles.

"I just woke up in the morning and came to the car and saw that her body was there on the ground," Tabish said. "And then I saw she wasn't breathing either, and then we called the ambulance immediately."

Mian was pronounced dead at the Holy Name Medical Center, where she worked as a student intern. She was the youngest of three children.

"She was the most amazing person in the entire world and my better half, really," Tabish Mian said. "If you met her, you would have known how beautiful, artistic, talented — she's the kindest person you'll ever meet. ... It's not fair that she's not here with us right now. It's really not."

In neighboring Pennsylvania on Wednesday, a falling tree hit a vehicle in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and killed the driver, Manual Loureiro, 31, of Bushkill.

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