Falling Tree in Willow Glen Injures Park Goers

A large tree fell in a park on Willow Street in San Jose Saturday evening injuring two people, fire officials said.

The tree at Willow Glen's Frank Bramhall Park was 50 to 60 feet tall and split right down the middle. Half of it fell into a parking lot, hitting a car. The other half fell into a bocce ball court where more than a dozen people were playing bocce, fire officials said.

A woman on the court was trapped by the tree for a time and suffered minor injuries, police said. The 61-year-old woman, who was a member of the lawn bowl club, was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after a portion of the tree came down on top of her.

When the tree fell there were 16 to 18 people on the court, including members of the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff and their wives. No one connected to the team was hurt.

A person with the lawn bowling club told NBC Bay Area that the club was sponsoring an event for the coaches Saturday night. He said the tree started shaking and then suddenly there was a big crack and it fell. Witnesses said Jim Harbaugh was not at the lawn bowling event.

A person sitting in a car in the parking lot was also trapped for a time and suffered minor injuries, police said.

Crews spent several hours cutting through the branches of the tree to make sure that no one else was trapped. Arborists will be brought in to see if they can figure why the tree fell.