Photo by Mike Salmon.
Burke — In the overnight hours of July 23, in the midst of a rainstorm that broke records for the month of July, a tree came crashing down on a house in Burke, killing
63-year-old Beverly Krizanovic.
The tree fell from the rear of the house, across the yard, and onto the corner of the house, damaging the back porch and the corner room.
According to a report by the Fairfax County Police, officers at the West Springfield District Station responded to the 5900 block of Burnside Lane shortly after 8:30 p.m., Monday, July 23, to assist Fairfax County Fire and Rescue after the report of a person trapped under a tree that fell on a home.
Eduardo Chacon, who graduated from Robinson Secondary School last month, heard the crash while laying in bed. “Once I saw the lights, I looked outside,” he said. He didn’t know the Krizanovics well, and waved occasionally when mowing the yard, but looked at the tree crew removing the tree the next day with a long face. “It’s sad,” he said.
Others felt the same way, and many came up the next afternoon to see what happened and comfort each other. “It’s a terribly sad situation,” said William Driesslein who lived around the corner for the past 31 years. “More tragedy then we need,” he said.
The Krizanovics took care of their trees, said Driesslein and Chacon. They’d taken down a few over the past few years that had died or gotten a tree disease. Others started worrying about their trees as well. “They’re shallow rooted,” said Driesslein.