Neighbors recount the failed rescue of a beloved woman killed by a falling tree in Northeast Philly

A dozen neighbors worked desperately to free a beloved Northeast Philadelphia woman from her car after a large tree fell and crushed it on Sunday night. Despite their and emergency medical personnel’s efforts, she succumbed to her injuries at the scene.

Elizabeth Taylor, 65, was driving on the 500 block of W. Hill Creek Drive in the city’s Crescentville section at approximately 6:09 p.m., when a tree fell on her car, according to police.

Emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene within minutes, and pronounced her dead shortly after.

“She was a lovely person, she was humble,” said Elizabeth Balaguer, a neighbor and close friend. Balaguer said that she went to see Taylor perform in a choir concert at the Kimmel Center earlier that evening. They arrived together in Taylor’s car, but instead of driving back to their Crescentville neighborhood together, Balaguer’s husband came to pick her up.

Balaguer said she believes Taylor was parking her car close to her home when the tree fell.

Taylor’s family did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

After a loud crash, neighbors then heard Taylor honk the horn of the car to call for help.

“Everybody was just really upset,” said Jackie Watson, a neighbor who lives near where the tree fell. She said that it was clear to her and others that Taylor was still alive even once they realized what had happened — her white gloved hand was still moving and motioning from the car, she said.

Watson said that about a dozen neighbors tried to move the tree and release Taylor from the crushed wreck, but they couldn’t free her. Emergency medical personnel arrived a few minutes later, but didn’t have the proper tools to get Taylor out of the car, according to Watson.

Some neighbors stood by and watched with frustration as first responders attempted to extricate Taylor from her car, believing that the rescuers were moving too slowly, Watson said.

“We feel as if they could have done way more than what they did … she didn’t have to go like that,” she said.

Police officials have not yet determined what caused the tree to fall, but Sunday night into Monday was extraordinarily windy in the region. A gust of 64 mph was recorded at Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 5:10 p.m., the National Weather Service said, and a high-wind warning was in effect. Wind-related damage and power outages were reported throughout the Philadelphia region.

Taylor was well known by her neighbors, who described her as a woman who led with kindness and a sincere concern for others.

Balaguer said that when they met a few years ago, she told Taylor that she was back in school, working on her high school diploma. Even though they weren’t yet close, whenever they ran into each other, Taylor would tell Balaguer not to give up, and that she was proud of her. Once Balaguer graduated, Taylor brought her a cake and food to celebrate.

“We all loved her,” she said. Taylor treated her and others like they were her family, guided by the faith she honed at the nearby Beloved St. John Evangelistic Church. “She followed God everywhere,” Balaguer said.

“She was a nice lady,” said Asia Smith, who usually saw Taylor walking her dog around the neighborhood. Smith said that her father and Taylor were friends, and that Taylor would regularly check up on their home to see how everyone was doing.

“She was just a sweet person,” Balaguer said.