‘Everything is crushed:’ Marshfield woman hurt by falling debris after pine tree topples onto home

MARSHFIELD, Mass. — It’s a week before Christmas -- a fact that might make any catastrophe feel worse. Tony Sardini of Marshfield knows all about that.

“The house is totaled,” he said. “There’s water already down in the basement.”

That water came from the gaping hole in the roof -- caused by a giant pine that toppled over during Monday’s powerful storm.

“It pierced right through the bedroom,” Sardini said. “Right through the closet, into the floor, two feet away from me.”

At the time, Sardini was sleeping in the bedroom, and his wife Kathleen, who is recovering from spinal surgery, was on the living room couch.

“I found my wife under all the sheetrock from the ceiling, and everything crushed in the living room,” he said.

Kathleen Sardini suffered a head injury. She was brought to urgent care, said her son, Michael Masciulli. And, from there, sent to Brigham and Women’s Hospital for a precautionary CAT scan. She was not seriously injured, he said.

Tony, meanwhile, stayed behind -- waiting for calls from the insurance and tree companies -- and hoping to get someone out to throw a tarp over the roof. That did not happen. And as Marshfield endured hours more heavy rain, more and more damage was done to the house.

“I’m pretty devastated,” said Sardini. “I don’t know what else to do right now.”

He especially mourned the loss of things special to the family.

“Just your Christmas tree with 50 years worth of ornaments on it... memorabilia,” said Sardini. “We lived here for 25 years.”

During those 25 years, Sardini said he and his wife had asked the town several times to remove the tree, believing it posed a safety hazard. Boston 25 News hopes to hear the town’s side of the story.

“It’s on town property and it’s only a couple of feet off the street,” he said. “They said it was a sound and secure tree... a good healthy tree. Well, look at it. How healthy was that tree? It just destroyed our lives. Just destroyed our lives.”

“I’ve known for a while they’ve been calling, trying to get that tree down,” Masciulli said. “It was always leaning towards the house.”

And now it’s leaning on the house.

“Everyone’s okay. That’s all that matters,” said Masciulli. “I took a video and said I’m going to miss this house. It was a great house.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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