A young boy died Sunday when a massive evergreen tree fell in Washington's Olympic National Park, striking a vehicle as the child and his family traveled home to Federal Way, according to firefighters.
Two other children in the SUV and two adults, believed to be the children's grandparents, were injured when the tree fell after 2 p.m. on New Year's Day, Clallam County Fire District No. 2 Fire-Rescue officials said.
The family was not identified, although the Peninsula Daily News reported that the boy who died was 5 years old. Fire officials said he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The injured children are about 10 years old or younger, and the adults are "elderly," according to the newspaper.
Some of the victims were trapped in the wrecked SUV and had to be rescued with hydraulic tools, fire officials said.
"Once (the SUV) was hit by the tree, it spun around, slid and traveled east," Clallam Fire District No. 2 Chief Sam Phillips told the Daily News. "The roads were icy … (and the grandparent driving) lost control of it. It spun around, spun backward."
The injured children and one of the grandparents were taken to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles for treatment. A spokeswoman told the Daily News they remained in serious condition Sunday.
The other grandparent was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. A hospital spokeswoman told the Daily News that person was in critical condition Sunday afternoon.
The family was traveling east on U.S. Highway 101, around Lake Crescent, from Clallam Bay, when the tree fell.
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