SUGAR LAND – A teenager said she’s lucky to be alive after a tree came crashing down on her Mercedes Benz as she was leaving her friend’s driveway.
Home surveillance video shows the moments when a simple trip to go get smoothies turned into the ride of a lifetime for Jordan Mininni and her friend.
Jordan said she had just picked up her friend from her home in Sugar Land when the tree fell on her car.
“I didn’t see the tree falling or anything, and the next thing I know, there’s just a tree on top of my car,” said Jordan. “It was scary for sure.”
The Kempner High School junior’s 2017 Mercedes GLA 250 was destroyed in the accident.
“It indented through the front part, so like, the engine and the windshield was like cracked completely,” Jordan said.
Fortunately, Jordan and her friend only suffered minor injuries, but she said they were trapped inside the car for about half an hour before fire and EMS came and helped them out.
“She was worried that I was going to be mad about her car and I just told her, ‘I don’t care. I have you! We’ll replace your car,’” said Jordan’s mother, Brooke Mininni.
While it was raining outside when this happened, Jordan and her mother believe the tree fell because it was rotten and infested with termites. They now both hope the close call can serve as a lesson for homeowners.
“I would just say, you know, make sure your property is properly maintained so that it can’t kill somebody just driving down the street,” Brooke said.
Jordan and her friend still got their smoothies and she said insurance will replace the vehicle. Based on how the car held up, she said she plans to get another Mercedes, but said she won’t be driving in the rain or under trees any time soon.