A man is spared, but his wife dies when a huge tree crushes their RV. The sad story played out in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, last Saturday. Cynthia (Cindy) Cousins died at 10:30 p.m., April 20, at the Quakerwoods Campground in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.
We received a letter from the Cousins’ family friend, Mike A., earlier this week regarding the incident. Mike included this photo:
Huge 94-inch* tree crushes an RV
The couple was in their trailer when a tree, estimated to be 94”* across, fell atop the rig. Bob Cousins was thrown clear of the rig and escaped with minor physical injuries. But the emotional harm caused by the incident has left Bob Cousins reeling. [From the pictures, it appears to be closer to maybe 36″ diameter, but with almost no apparent root system.]
Bob related their story to 6abc.com. He says they had just fallen asleep when the terror happened. “This tree was only five feet from my head. It’s just the way it fell. It fell right across her and crushed her to death,” he said. While he could physically reach his wife, there was nothing he could do to save her. It was then he knew he had to call their daughter. “The hardest thing I ever had to do in my life was call her to tell her what happened,” Bob related.
The family recalls Cindy Cousins as a pillar in the neighborhood. “She babysat so many children in the community, half the neighborhood referred to her as ‘mom-mom.’” Bob Cousins recalls, “If you needed … ‘I need someone to care for my son for the day.’ She would be there. She was an angel.”
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Cindy just looks like a bundle of fun. She has that motherly look about her. No wonder folks would call her to take care of their kids. Very sad story . . . . .
How random and crazy can it get? How would you deal with this?
Is there a reason the tree fell?
Hi, Cookie. I just looked at several news sources about this tragedy and none of them list a cause for the tree falling. Sorry. But judging by the picture, it doesn’t look like the tree had a very good root system, so wind may have toppled it. Just a guess on my part. Have a good evening/night. 🙂 -Diane at RVtravel.com
Thanks for the logical explanation.
Hi Cookie,
The area had heavy rains in the weeks leading to the tree falling. It was dry for the week leading up to this. The weather was calm. Another picture shows the roots, but I did not send it due to respect of Bob and the girls. Cindy and her siblings grew up two houses from my wife.
Thank you for the info, Mike. Such a tragedy. Take care.🤗 –Diane
Thank you, Russ and Tina! 🙂 How tragic! How sad! 🙁 I can’t imagine how the family and friends must feel. 🙂 I pray for this grief-stricken family, that they find comfort and peace despite the pain and heartache of such a devastating and unexpected loss. Safe traveks and stays! 🙂
Texas Governor Greg Abbot was injured in his neighborhood while jogging on a sidewalk when a tree happen to fall on him. He was paralyzed from the waist down.
When we pull into RV parks with big trees, it’s definitely on my mind if we have storms and we drive a 45 footer. We had a hail storm in the Texas hill county on the Monday after Easter this year and it did $12,000.00 worth of damage to it. We looked at the top of our RV and didn’t see and dents.
This is so very tragic for this sweet family.
So sad for this family and all of her neighbors who depended on her for watching their children. I have camped with my young family at that campground in our first tent trailer back in the 70’s.
So sad, but I wonder where they are measuring when they say 94 inches ACROSS? 94 inches is almost 8 foot.
Good point, Deb. Thank you. I hadn’t even thought about that number. From the pictures it looks like maybe 36″ diameter (guessing). I’ve added a note to the post to that effect, after looking through the news stories but only finding the reference to 94″. Tragic, no matter what. Take care. 🙂 –Diane at RVtravel.com
We were camping at Cumberland Mountain State Park in Tennessee several years ago when a rotten snag at the top of a tree fell on a pop-up camper, also at night when the couple were sleeping. Luckily, they were sleeping on the end that didn’t get crushed. But if it had happened the following night, their grandchildren would have been sleeping on that end.