New York woman recovering after massive tree falls on bedroom

GREAT NECK, N.Y. -- A 20-year-old Long Island woman is recovering in the hospital after the surprise of her life, and the way she was sleeping likely kept her alive.

A massive tree weighing about 5,000 pounds crashed into her bedroom around 12:30 a.m. Monday in Great Neck, trapping her for hours.

The tree looks like it's from the backyard, and it toppled onto the back of the house while the woman was sleeping.

The thick limbs pinned her down, though the fire chief says the cushion of the bed made things a little better. But an inch either way could have been the difference between life and death for the victim.

Firefighters say the tree took down power lines and created a gaping hole through the roof, and they had to turn off the power and stabilize the victim before cutting her free.

The whole ordeal took about two hours.

"It's very dangerous, because you don't know where the pressure points are where they lie on the house," David Cion, a Long Island lumberjack. "If you cut the wrong spot at the wrong time you can find yourself in a very precarious predicament."

Throughout the incident, emergency workers were talking to the woman to make sure she was alert. She was taken to an area hospital, where she is listed in serious but stable condition. Her grandmother told her she is expected to be OK.

The woman suffered multiple trauma injuries but emergency crews tell us because she is a side sleeper that may have just saved her life.

Storms were rolling through the area at the time, and authorities say it's another reminder to check for rotting wood on big trees surrounding the house.