MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee woman says she is lucky to be alive after a tree collapsed onto her and her stepfather as they walked toward their home Tuesday afternoon.
Michelle Broaden, a soon-to-be mother, was returning from work with her stepfather, Jeff Posey, when a massive branch snapped and came down in the Lincoln Creek neighborhood on the city’s north side.
“It literally happened so fast,” Broaden said. “We couldn’t run, we couldn’t move. It was coming down.”
Broaden said there was no strong wind when the branch fell, only a brief gust. At first, she thought the crash was a car accident. By the time she realized it was the tree, Posey had acted.
Posey, who was walking to her right, pushed and elbowed Broaden out of the way so the branch hit him instead.
“You’re pregnant, and I didn’t want you to get hit,” Broaden recalled him saying.
The tree knocked Posey to the ground, causing head and leg injuries. He was in and out of consciousness as neighbors rushed to help.
Watch: Milwaukee man injured saving pregnant stepdaughter from falling tree
“I was just petrified, and I couldn’t get to him because there were so many branches and trees in the way,” said Beverly Posey, Jeff’s wife and Michelle’s mother, who was inside the home when it happened.
Beverly called 911 while neighbors removed debris, took Jeff’s blood pressure, and poured water on him to keep him awake. Broaden suffered lacerations and shoulder and back pain but remained on her feet.
Posey remains in the hospital with two head wounds and soreness that makes walking difficult.
Broaden said the situation could have been worse. Still in her first trimester, she feared she could have been crushed by the branch or lost her baby.
“I just love him so much,” she said. “I know he’s going to get out of the hospital, and I can’t wait for him to come home. We love you.”
The family credits quick action from Posey and neighbors for preventing a tragedy. Beverly called her husband’s actions “pretty wonderful” and said she believes the outcome was guided by grace.
They now worry about the safety of the tree, believing it is rotting in the center and at risk of causing further damage. Beverly said city crews told her the remaining sections will be removed within the next two weeks, but the family hopes the city will also inspect their block for other potentially dangerous trees.
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