A rotten tree limb fell on two cars parked on S. State Street Thursday. Vehicle owners retrieve items from the vehicle before work crews remove the tree. Photo by Grant Gibbon

NEW ULM– A tree limb fell at around 8 p.m. Wednesday, hitting two cars.

A tree in the yard of 521 South State Street lost a major limb due to rot damage. The limb fell on two parked cars, causing significant damage to both. No property damage besides the cars was reported. A ground crew removed the tree from the cars and chopped it up Thursday morning.

Jason Sellner was one of the ground crew workers for Roots and Up. Using a chainsaw, he cut the limb in sections to be carried away. A secondary worker then took the sections to a wood chipper to be turned into mulch.

He said there was no previous indication the limb was going down. “[It] was just mother nature. The whole left hand side was all rotten,” Sellner said.

He said the crew plans to spend the rest of the day removing the rest of the tree, as it is too affected by rot to continue standing. There are currently no plans to remove any of the other trees on the property or on the block.