Dad of 4 Nearly Killed When High Winds Send Massive Tree Crashing Down on Him

The lives of one family were changed forever on Oct. 10 when a freak windstorm caused a tree to fall on Ricky Roldan while he was cleaning up after his kids in the yard. The family shared their harrowing story on GoFundMe, where they are raising money to help cover medical expenses and household bills. 

The post went on to say that Roldan had been trapped under the tree for several minutes before getting freed. He suffered severe injuries, including broken bones and an injury that required emergency heart surgery.

The family even included a photo of the tree in the post, highlighting just how lucky Roldan was to survive being hit by the massive object in the first place. 

However, the good news is that Roldan’s prognosis is great, and he is expected to make a full recovery. Still, the family says that the Roldans are in need of financial support, since the father of four was the sole income earner in the family.

Roldan’s Mom Was There at the Time

It’s every parent’s nightmare to see their child seriously injured. Unfortunately, his mother was present when it happened, and she shared her story with KABC and KCBS, recalling what happened immediately following the incident. 

“It was humongous. I tried moving it. It was so heavy. Couldn’t move it,” she told the outlet of seeing the tree. Roldan’s wife also tried to help.

“She runs out in a panic to the neighbors, and she sees nobody,” his mom recalled. “She runs back and picks up the tree. So my son was able to crawl out.”

The Dad Has Had Several Surgeries

Roldan’s mom told the outlet that he remained unconscious for several days.

According to the GoFundMe, Roldan is still in the hospital and is recovering from multiple procedures. “One of Rick’s aorta’s detached and a stent was added to reattach it to his heart,” an update said. “On Sunday, Rick had leg and foot surgery. Rick is still in a lot of pain. He has 6-7 fractured ribs on each side, fractured shoulder blade, fractured pelvic, fractured spine and lumbar 1-5.”

Roldan remains hospitalized while he’s recovering. Meanwhile, his GoFundMe has nearly hit its initial goal, and it had almost reached $11,000 as of the time of publication. 

Falling Trees Pose a Serious Weather Danger

The Weather Channel reports that 34 people were killed by falling trees or branches in 2025. That seems to fall in line with a ResearchGate study that found that the U.S. averaged around 31 deaths from wind-related tree falls each year from 1995-2007.

Those figures don’t include all injuries, such as Roldan’s. The Weather Channel reported that 101 people were injured by falling trees or branches during high winds in 2025.