A mom says she’s “lucky to be alive” after a tree trunk smashed into her head during a 50 mph storm.
Nina Lunn, 42, was walking through Allestree Park, Derby, on Sunday (10/25) when Storm Boelo sent part of a tree crashing down on her.
The teaching assistant suffered a concussion and a bleeding head wound after the freak impact knocked her to the ground.
Speaking to Sell Us Your Story, she said: “The hospital staff were quite shocked and even said to me, ‘Wow, you’re lucky to be here.’
“The paramedics were quite worried because my blood pressure was very high.
“It just shows how dangerous the weather can be. If I had been a foot in either direction the tree would have smashed right on top of me.”
Nina had headed out for a quick birthday weekend stroll before traveling to Yorkshire to celebrate with family.
While she was on the phone to a friend, a sudden gust of wind tore through a wooded area, causing a tree she had just walked past to snap in half.
She said: “I had my AirPods in as I was walking along a path when I heard a really loud crack.
“I spun around to see what it was but it was too late and the whole tree had come down on top of me.
“The strong wind was so powerful the tree literally snapped in half in the middle and it crashed down on me.
“My teeth shattered together. Then I could just feel the blood dripping down my face. I panicked.”
The force of the blow sent her AirPods flying and left her desperately calling a friend for help.
Using her fleece sleeve to stem the bleeding, she was aided by a woman pushing a pram.
Nina said: “Had it happened 30 seconds earlier, the tree could have got the mom and her baby and I was so close to being completely wiped out. I feel genuinely lucky to be alive.”
She was rushed to Royal Derby Hospital, where doctors glued her head wound shut before she was discharged.
But the mom-of-one returned the following day suffering from a concussion, swelling, blurred vision and high blood pressure.
Nina, who has a 13-year-old son Flynn, added: “The swelling on my face and the left side of my head is quite bad.
“I’ve still got headaches and some blurry vision but each day I’m getting better.
“Two days after the incident I went to look at the tree again and was quite frightened. It could have easily have killed me.”
The tree which fell was believed to be either a birch or an oak.
Derby City Council have been approached for comment.
