What Should You Do If A Tree Hits Your Car? City Of Denver Offers Tips

DENVER (CBS4) - Maggie Zawalski was getting ready to go to her yoga class on Friday morning when she found an unpleasant surprise on her truck. A tree snapped from above and fell on her truck, damaging her side mirror and gas tank.

"I keep calling it a branch. It's huge," Zawalski exclaimed. "The one thing that's broken is my truck. You know, it sucks."

It was a similar story all throughout the Capitol Hill neighborhood as powerlines and broken trees blocked the streets. So, what should you do if a tree land on your car?

Scott Gilmore, who is the Deputy Manager of Denver Parks and Recreation, says your first call should be to your insurance company.

"That's who's going to take care of your car and repair your car, get your car repaired," Gilmore said.

Next, call a certified arborist to get the tree removed.

"You want to find a company that actually will be able to remove the tree, pick it up safely, trim your tree up, and make sure your tree is taken care of," he said.

If a tree is blocking an intersection call 311 so the city can remove it. If there are any downed power lines, call Xcel and dial 911 immediately.

"That's a life safety issue. You need to report that as quickly as possible, so people don't get injured by downed power lines," Gilmore said.

Perhaps the easiest way to prevent any tree damage to your car is to simply brush the snow off the branches.

"During storms like this, you need to get out and tap the branches and make sure that the heavy wet snow is knocked off, and it'll help avoid the branches breaking on your trees and coming down," Gilmore said.