It's not a far stretch to say that Melissa Manning considers herself lucky to be alive.
She was driving to work in Rogers Park in her Mini Cooper Monday morning when she noticed the storm getting worse.
"Out of nowhere the wind picked up and I a saw a few tree branches fall and I thought, 'Oh, this is going to be bad in a few minutes.' Next thing I know an entire tree hit my car and I was pinned in," Maynard says.
Manning car was smashed like a cardboard box by the impact near the corner of Ridge and Howard.
The airbag deployed and she was able to scramble out.
"For a few seconds it was just terrifying, it was crazy," Maynard says. "I'm screaming, there's no one coming out. It was horrible. Finally, it seemed like forever, the ambulance came."
Manning spent five hours in the hospital and sufferd a sprained ankle and various cuts and bruises.
I'm OK and bruised up, but it was one of those life changing moments. The cops said I was 6 inches away from being completely crushed."
