One person killed by toppled tree in Haarlem during Storm Poly
A woman in Haarlem was badly injured after a tree fell on her car during Storm Poly on Wednesday morning. She later died from her injuries. Her death is the first known fatality linked to the storm, which brought wind gusts of up to 146 kilometers per hour to the Netherlands, and sustained winds that were record-breaking for a summer storm.
Police, firefighters, and paramedics attempted to get to the scene of the accident on Marnixtraat at about 8:40 a.m. A trauma team was also dispatched to the scene. The 51-year-old woman was in the car with another individual, who was uninjured in the incident.
Once freed from the vehicle, bystanders attempted to revive the woman. The resuscitation effort was taken over by first responders. The trauma team brought the woman by helicopter to an area hospital, however attempts to revive her had failed, authorities said.
About the same time, two other individuals were also injured in separate incidents in Amsterdam. In each case, a tree also toppled over on a car. One of the two lost consciousness after he escaped from the vehicle. Their conditions were not released.
Infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat led the call early Wednesday morning, telling people to stay off the roads due to dangerous conditions. Several NL-Alerts were distributed in Noord-Holland, which includes Amsterdam and Haarlem, advising people to stay indoors. However, these alerts were sent closer to 9 a.m.
