Teen girl ‘very seriously’ injured by fallen tree

PORT ORCHARD — A 15-year-old girl was “very seriously” injured Nov. 13 when a tree fell on her house at 1259 Arnold Ave. E., Kitsap County Sheriff’s spokesman Scott Wilson reported. The street is a block away from Beach Drive in Port Orchard.

Crews from South Kitsap Fire and Rescue responded to an emergency radio report of a fallen tree that had crashed through the roof of the manufactured home on a partially forested lot. The injured teenager’s father and a neighbor worked to free her from underneath the fallen tree. Emergency personnel arrived at the home at 4:45 p.m.

Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Faucett reported that the injured girl was taken to Tacoma General Medical Center.

Winds wreaked havoc on Kitsap Nov. 13, knocking out power to traffic signals along Highway 305 in Poulsbo, knocking down and sparking a power line fire in front of Wilkes Elementary School on Bainbridge Island, downing trees, and setting two boats adrift from their anchorage in Poulsbo and Silverdale.

Neighbors and friends of the John Shaw family, identified on Facebook as the residents of the stricken home, have established a GoFundMe account to help the Shaws recover from the accident.

A post by organizers Anna Tangen and Maddy Goss said Caitlin Shaw was asleep in her bedroom when the tree crashed through the attic and fell on top of her. “Cat was trapped underneath the tree for at least 10 minutes until people came out and paramedics arrived,” the GoFundMe post said. “John (Caitlin’s dad) grabbed Cat from under the tree. Cat was not responsive or moving (when she was removed).”

The post reported that the teenager began to move shortly after her father attended to her. After being taken to Tacoma General, Caitlin was reported to have been placed in an induced medical coma, but didn’t present signs of internal bleeding or brain injuries. She was found to have minor scrapes and cuts, the report said.

Because of the storm’s severity and the damage caused by the fallen tree, Tangen and Goss wrote that the Shaw family has “pretty much lost everything to this storm.” Their vehicle was damaged and most belongings were ruined by the wet weather, they said.

As of Nov. 14, $620 out of the $3,000 goal has been raised through the GoFundMe account: www.gofundme.com/hyhcbg-help-out-the-shaws