Storms Topple 2 Trees, Kill NJ Man

Powerful storms knocked two oak trees onto the car Wednesday afternoon

An Ocean County, N.J. man died Wednesday after a powerful storm knocked two oak trees onto the car he was in, police say.

The deadly accident happened at about 5:30 p.m. on Route 571 in Manchester Township, police say.

Patrick Mackin captured this great video and uploaded it to YouTube.

According to the National Weather Service, the storm responsible for the death of 69-year-old Henry Burton, Jr. of Sayreville was not a tornado.

Forecasters had issued two separate tornado warnings for parts of northwestern and coastal New Jersey on Wednesday afternoon as very strong thunderstorms moved through the state from west to east. They say more severe weather is possible on Thursday.

Christopher Schell, 27, of Manchester, said he was driving in a car with his 22-month-old daughter, Kylie, when they had to take shelter under a bank drive-through overhang because the hail was so severe.

“There was extreme rain and hail to the point where you couldn't see two feet in front of you,” he said.

When the storm let up he returned home to find a huge tree in his front yard had split in half and slammed to the ground only inches from the house, which was undamaged.

“I would have taken this entire house out, no doubt,” he said. “The whole lawn was covered with hail, like someone covered it with ice cubes. It's like an ice maker went haywire out here.”

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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