Schools

BOE Member Injured When Tree Falls Into His House

Sharif Shamsudin takes a hit to protect his child.

Parsippany Board of Education member Sharif Shamsudin was treated at Morristown Memorial Hospital for multiple minor injuries he sustained when a tree fell onto his home early Sunday.

Shamsudin said that he and his wife noticed that following Hurricane Irene's heavy rains, a tree in his yard was leaning toward the family home in Lake Hiawatha.

"My wife said it didn't look right," he said. "We should have done something about it right then and there, but we ignored it." 

Friday afternoon, the tree fell into the home and nearly crushed one of Shamsudin's young daughters.

"My wife screamed, and I grabbed my daughter, scooped her up and put her under my stomach so the tree wouldn't hit her," he explained. "Instead, it hit me."

It was more than the tree, he added.

"Parts of the whole house, sheetrock… it all hit me hard in the head, and in the back," Shamsudin recalled, noting that he was in great pain, but that his injuries were not life-endangering in any way. He said he expected to carry on with his regular commitments.

Following his release from the hospital, Shamsudin said he is most worried about getting important items out of his damaged home.

"I assume the house is destroyed, and we'll have to stay with my parents, but I hope we can get the things out that matter to us," he said. 


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