Sunday September 29, at around 9:45 a.m., Aidan DeVries ‘27 and Tyneisha “T” Herring ‘25 were driving down Ochs Highway on the way to church when they were startled by a series of deafening cracks and pops like gunfire. These were caused, they would come to learn, by a tree collapsing over the road.
Photos taken by Logan Roy’26
“We heard these massive bangs right above our car, probably three of them,” DeVries said. “T says she looked in the mirror and saw some blue flashes, definitely from the tree falling over the power lines …. We knew there was a car behind us coming down the mountain. We definitely should have stopped, but I didn’t think of it at the time because I thought we were being shot at.”
The owner of this car was none other than Logan Roy ‘26, the DA of Catacombs. He said, “I left campus around 9:30. I’m a youth leader down at North Shore Fellowship, and I was running a little behind …. I’m driving down, and I get to the stretch where you can see Guild Trail and that little parking spot, then I hear the very characteristic sound of wood breaking.
“I looked up to see the entire tree fall. It looked like a wave of green, just like a waterfall of leaves falling down. I saw a blue flash as it ripped the power lines out of the telephone pole, then it crashed into the top of my car. The sound of the tree pile driving my car was overwhelming … I mean, it completely stopped my car, and I definitely screamed.
“One of the first things I did, I put my car into park, then I turned it off at some point. Then I was just sitting there freaking out about what I should do. I called my dad. I think that was the first thing I did.”
Photos taken by Logan Roy’26
The bulk of the tree landed on the hood, windshield and passenger’s side, totaling the car—but the driver’s seat was spared from lethal damage. Roy said, “The passenger side got hit a lot worse. I’d drive people to church sometimes, and I’m very glad I didn’t that day.” He had to crawl out the backseat because the front doors were pinned but emerged nearly unscathed, with the exception of a few small cuts and bruises across his face and hands.
In reflecting on the experience, Roy is grateful and positive. “If I had been going just two miles per hour more down the mountain when it happened, I would be dead. If I had left, say, five minutes earlier, nothing would have happened. It’s one of those crazy things where it’s the butterfly effect, or God’s hand in my life.”
Likewise, he is incredibly appreciative of the support he received from family, friends and emergency services, as well as encouragement from those on campus. He said, “One of the main things that was surprising was just how many people came up to me and asked if I was okay … you go through something like this, and the amount of people that surround you and make sure you’re loved and cared for—that was probably the most powerful thing.
“This place is so cool. When you really need the community and they surround you, it’s absolutely something else.”
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Thumbnail photo taken by Logan Roy’26