A San Jacinto Father of Four Heard Something Above Him While Picking Up His Kids’ Toys in the Backyard, Then a 20-Foot Piece of Eucalyptus Landed on His Back

What Ricky Roldan heard was the wind tearing a section of eucalyptus loose over his San Jacinto, California, backyard. The piece was at least 20 feet long, and it came down on his back while he was picking up his children’s toys, according to a KCAL/KCBS report that ran on WVLT.

The father of four was pinned to the ground with several broken vertebrae and ribs. His mother, Alexandra Roldan, told the station that he heard something when he looked up, “and that’s when it fell on him.”

A Wife Lifts the Tree Off Her Husband

Roldan’s wife, Erica, ran out and tried to lift the fallen section, but it was too heavy, KPTV reported. She went looking for neighbors and found no one.

She came back and lifted the tree herself, according to WBTV’s copy of the same report. That gave her husband room to crawl out. Only then did she call 911.

Surgeries and a Hospital in Moreno Valley

Paramedics took Roldan to a hospital, where he had emergency surgery, FOX19 reported. More surgeries followed.

When the stories ran on Oct. 20, he was still in a Moreno Valley hospital with family around him. WAFB’s version says he is expected to make a full recovery.

“He’s broken, but he’s going to be great,” Alexandra Roldan said. She urged people to tell their loved ones that they care about them.

A Gust, a Saturday Afternoon and a Backyard Cleanup

The reports say the winds picked up suddenly on a Saturday afternoon while Roldan was tidying the yard. They do not give a wind speed, and they do not say how the tree had been cared for or whether anyone had inspected it.

What they describe is a large limb coming off a backyard eucalyptus with no warning beyond a sound. Nothing in the coverage points to a lawsuit or an investigation. The family’s account centers on the rescue, the surgeries and the recovery.

Why Eucalyptus Limbs Can Fall Without Warning

Eucalyptus is one of the species that University of California horticulture writers list for what is called sudden limb failure or summer branch drop. The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County describe it as large branches dropping without warning, and name oak, eucalyptus, elm and ash as commonly affected.

That condition is usually tied to hot, calm afternoons rather than wind, so the Roldan case is a different kind of failure. Still, the same advice about weight and structure applies to a big limb of any tree hanging over a yard.

According to the Master Gardeners, failures typically happen 3 to 12 feet out from the trunk. The limbs that fail tend to be long and horizontal, often reaching toward the edge of the canopy, and many of them look sound before they break. Older, less vigorous trees are more prone, and a tree that has lost one limb is more likely to lose another.

What Arborists Tell Homeowners to Do

The Butte County Master Gardeners recommend shortening and lightening long horizontal branches and inspecting trees for visible defects such as decay or cavities. Their plainest advice is about placement: “Falling limbs can’t harm people (or property) if they aren’t under the tree.”

They say that includes keeping cars, play structures, benches and picnic tables out from under older, susceptible trees.

Consulting arborist Michael Santos, quoted in a newsletter by Fred Hoffman, advises contacting an arborist before problems develop. The same piece points homeowners to the International Society of Arboriculture’s directory of certified arborists at Treesaregood.org and suggests checking that any tree company is licensed, bonded and insured, and getting more than one estimate.

A different tree failure on this site, an Ulster neighbor’s dead tree that wrecked a paid-off house, is covered in the story of Danielle and Walter Conklin’s home. For families with kids’ toys scattered under a big backyard tree, the lesson is a practical one. A yard where children play is worth a walk-through with an arborist before the next windy stretch, with long overhanging limbs and older trees at the top of the list. Alexandra Roldan’s own message is simpler: tell the people who matter that they do.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Marty Aligata – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons