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Snow-Laden Tree Limb Crashes Down On Grass Valley Woman's Car

GRASS VALLEY (CBS13) - A Grass Valley woman avoided a close call when a large tree limb fell weighed down by snow fell on her car Tuesday during the snow storm.

"If that was her head she'd have been hurting," said Jeremy Harrison of Import Auto Service, who happened to look out the window and of his business next door and saw the near-miss. "It was her lucky day -- and her (patting the car) unlucky day."

car branch
A tree limb sits on top of a Volvo in Grass Valley during a snow storm on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. (credit: CBS13)

At least it was her car and not her taking the brunt of a big branch collapsing under the weight of the fresh snow.

"She was trying to put her windshield wiper on when I heard a big crack," Harrison said. "She jumped right over here right as that big limb just fall right on her car."

Outside town, a bus carrying special needs students slid off a country road and got stuck. The replacement bus was slipping and sliding, trying to make it up the steep, snow-covered road.

It was a busy day for CHP officers, as the low snow, the first of the season in Grass Valley, apparently caught drivers off-guard.

"There were cars everywhere for a couple hours," Officer Reaves Douglas said. "People not prepared, not paying attention to the weather."

Dozens of spinouts came as no surprise to one lifelong local who said even though the first storm came a bit later than usual, the problems are always the same.

"You see everybody panic and you know 'oh my gosh, I've got to get my kids,' and they're really just the ones making the problem." Grass Valley resident Jessica Burton said. "Obviously, once it stops snowing you can see the roads clear up pretty quick."

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