Father of 4 cleaning up backyard nearly killed when tree falls, crushing him

SAN JACINTO, Calif. (KCAL/KCBS) - A father of four from California is lucky to be alive after intense winds knocked down part of a tree in his backyard that landed on his back and crushed him.

Ricky Roldan, a father of four, was cleaning up his kids’ toys in his San Jacinto backyard last Saturday afternoon when the winds suddenly picked up. Part of a eucalyptus tree broke off and crushed him.

“He said he heard something when he looked up. That’s when it fell on him,” said Ricky’s mother, Alexandra Roldan.

The tree landed on Ricky Roldan’s back, breaking several vertebrae and ribs and pinning him to the ground. His wife, Erica Roldan, rushed out of the house to help him. The part of the tree that fell on the father was at least 20 feet long.

“She [Erica] tries to lift it up – too heavy. She runs out in a panic to the neighbors, and she sees nobody,” Alexandra Roldan said. “She runs back, and she picks up the tree. So, my son is able to crawl out.”

After freeing her husband, Erica Roldan quickly called 911. Paramedics rushed the father to the hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to save his life.

“Right before he went into heart surgery, he told his sister, ‘Please take care of my family. I’m not going to make it,’” Alexandra Roldan said.

But Ricky Roldan did make it. Several surgeries later, he is still at a Moreno Valley hospital, but he’s surrounded by his family and expected to make a full recovery.

“He’s broken, but he’s going to be great,” Alexandra Roldan said. “Life is too short. Let the people you love know you love them.”