Depending upon your point of view, this could be amazingly good luck, or incredibly bad.  Just before 1:00 p.m. Saturday, the Duke family of S.E. Portland heard a giant cracking sound, followed by a big boom. What felt like an earthquake was an elm tree – perhaps a century old, and soaked by the recent deluge – crashing into the Duke family driveway, on top of their cars.

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Fortunately, nobody was inside the cars. But 16-year-old Michael Duke, who had planned to be driving away to a movie around then, may have missed being in one of the cars by minutes.

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“That one was going to be mine,” he said, pointing to the 2002 Mercedes ML. “I’m about to get my license.” The other vehicle, a 2005 Chevy Tahoe, held many family memories. “We grew up in that car,” Michael reminisced  – referring to him and his older sister, Emily, who is away at college.

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Michael’s parents were inside, making the necessary calls to the city and insurance company.

Rebecca Webb
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