BELLINGHAM, Wash — A pair of brothers narrowly escaped death when a tree fell on their Jeep Cherokee while they were driving on Interstate 5 north near Bellingham on Saturday morning.
The brothers shared their experience exclusively with KING 5.
"I look down, and there’s logs all over my hands, bleeding, and in that moment, I was like, that’s it," said Mason Soto, 21.
Soto said he was driving at the 60 miles per hour speed limit when the tree made impact, with his older brother Daniel Soto in the front seat. The brothers were going to buy new stereo speakers for Mason's birthday, which just so happened to be the very next day.
"No time to react, and it was just a big, 'Boom!'" Mason Soto said. The tree's branches pierced the windshield, hitting his knuckles, chest, and nose, ricocheting off onto his brother.
Daniel Soto, 24, said, "What I thought was, 'What’re the chances that maybe it impaled me somewhere?'"
They pulled over, and miraculously, the brothers only sustained minor cuts and bruises.
The tree fell onto the freeway around 11 a.m., as wind gusts were peaking. Experts said they reached around 55 miles per hour in the area near Lake Samish.
For the Soto family of Oak Harbor, the incident served as a stark reminder of the true meaning of the holiday season: that things are replaceable, but our loved ones are not.
"I'm amazed that I'm sitting here having breakfast with my kids," said their father, a Navy veteran from Whidbey Island.
Reflecting on the incident, he added, "It puts it into perspective that tomorrow’s not guaranteed."
He is now calling for more safety measures after a first responder informed him that dead trees and underbrush along the route were supposed to be cleared but had not been.
"It should be brought up and brought to light because it’s not the first time on that route that they’ve had, ya know, serious accidents from, you know, trees, rocks, mudslides," said Mark Soto.
This Christmas, and every Christmas going forward, he is grateful for what he says are his sons’ guardian angels.
"I’m thanking my grandma for that one," said Mason Soto.
Unfortunately, the family's Jeep Cherokee was totaled in the incident.
"I worked myself really hard to make sure they had those vehicles," said Mark Soto. "And when it gets pulled away, it's like, 'Okay... what else do I do?'"
Daniel Soto has set up an online fundraiser for his father to help him replace the car, writing, "He is a selfless man who does so much for our family."