Boy, 2, killed after tree falls onto home during powerful California storm

A 2-year-old boy was among at least two people killed after a storm swept through California, knocking down trees, flooding streets and leaving thousands in the dark.

The child, who has not been identified, was sitting on a living room couch Wednesday evening when the tree crashed through the roof of the mobile home in Occidental, “pinning or landing” on top of him, a Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said.

The boy’s father and a neighbor were able to free the child. Fire personnel performed CPR but the boy was pronounced dead from his injuries just before 6 p.m.

The sheriff’s office spokesperson said the boy’s father and mother were home at the time but they did not report any injuries.

In Fairfield, a 19-year-old woman was killed in a single-vehicle collision at around 8:40 a.m. Wednesday. Police said the woman was driving down a partially flooded road when the car she was in hydroplaned and crashed into a utility pole.

“Unfortunately, speed unsafe for conditions was likely the primary reason for the collision, with water on the road being a contributing factor,” the Fairfield Police Department said.

Her name was not released.

Parts of California were hit by heavy rain, strong winds and flooding that left thousands of people in the dark. By Thursday afternoon, more than 160,000 customers statewide were without electricity, according to the tracking website Poweroutage.us. Just over 16,000 customers reported outages in Sonoma and more than 23,000 in San Mateo.

Authorities in San Francisco also responded to reports of downed trees. One family was trapped in a vehicle after a tree toppled over. They were rescued and are OK, the fire department said.

Multiple downed trees almost completely blocked Interstate 280 in San Mateo Country, the California Highway Patrol said, urging drivers to avoid the area.

The National Weather Service said Thursday that continued thunderstorms and heavy rain should be expected throughout the day. Heavy snowfall is also expected across the Sierra Mountains.

“We’re not out of the woods yet even though we’ve seen a break in the rain this morning,” Julie Malingowski, a meteorologist for the weather service, said in a video update. “There is additional rain that is expected. The threat of flooding still exists for today. There are still flash flood watches and flood watches out in effect for many portions of California today.”