CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) — A motorist sustained traumatic injuries after a tree fell on their vehicle during a storm in Circleville Thursday evening.

People in the area said the storms happened quickly and Kristen Bliss said they feared a tornado. 

“I had seen hail at our house before I left and then that wind change, that’s what made me worry,” Bliss said.

She and her 7-year-old son went out to grab some pizza for dinner when the storm started. 

“The car actually started shaking because the wind had gotten really bad,” said Bliss.“The visibility was so low you couldn’t see anything.”

Bliss said it was so bad she could not see or hear a large tree branch fall onto a car. 

“We didn’t hear the tree fall or anything and as I came up the road I was three cars behind the one that got hit and saw the tree down, but there were so many branches that you couldn’t see the car,” she said.

It wasn’t until Bliss drove back to Northridge Road that she saw emergency crews rescuing a man from the car trapped under the tree. She and her son were shocked.

“My son was in the car with me and he was saying ‘wow, I can’t believe somebody is in there’” Bliss said.

Police said the driver of that car suffered traumatic injuries and add he was flown to a Columbus area hospital for treatment. 

Tree service companies began the cleanup effort Friday after the storms pushed through.   

“A lot of trees down a lot of big limbs,” said Scot Ross of Custom Tree Service.

Ross said when storms like the one Circleville experienced Thursday push through, it really takes a toll on damaged trees. 

“That tree has been rotten for a long time,” said Ross. “There was only a couple of little spots there that was holding it. It was just a matter of time before it split off there.”

Ross said they expect to take this down sometime next week.