A child and a nun were nearly crushed by a tree that suddenly toppled in the snow in Hell’s Kitchen on Monday afternoon.
The scary scene unfolded as the pair was walking along a sidewalk near the Sisters of Life and Sacred Heart Convent between Ninth and Tenth Avenues on Monday as Winter Storm Hernando was winding down, W42ST reported.
The nun and child were walking by the tree Monday when it suddenly came crashing down. FNTVMultiple branches came crashing down, followed by the trunk that splintered under the snow’s mounting weight, according to harrowing video footage.
The heroic nun curled over the child, shielding him with her body while the branches scattered in the street and on a nearby stoop.
She hoisted the boy up into her arms and calmly shuffled away.
Neither of them were injured in the near miss, W42ST reported.
Startled neighbors told the outlet that the fallen tree was “one of the biggest, oldest ones on this street” but “had been in rough shape for a while.”
“Poor thing,” one neighbor mourned.
Another tree fell on top of an awning and shattered a second floor window on 9th Avenue, just one block away from the convent, later Monday.
FDNY crews were able to clear the bulk of the tree blocking the street, but sectioned off the lower half on the sidewalk.
Luckily the pair weren’t hit by the falling tree. FNTVJames Healy, a co-owner of FLEX, a gay bar near the second collapsed tree, told the outlet that he was trying to enlist help from tree removal services.
He asked the City for help, but was told it “would be a few days” before the debris could be cleared, since they were overwhelmed with more pressing requests.
The Post reached out to the FDNY, who responded to both scenes.
Winter Storm Hernando quickly escalated to one of NYC’s biggest on record, dumping up to 24 inches of snow.
Islip, a town in Long Island, recorded a record-breaking 29.1 inches of snow.
Many New Yorkers took to the streets Monday afternoon to make the most of the “full classic snow day.”
Even some fun-loving officers with the NYPD joined in and started a snowball fight in an empty street.
Some wily students are calling for Mayor Zohran Mamdani to reverse his decision to reopen schools on Tuesday – claiming the conditions are “unsafe” for travel.
