U.S.WEIRD NEWS

Massive tree comes crashing down on minivan along busy SoCal roadway

The tree fell across a busy Southern California roadway and hit the van, and a witness described a loud crack first; nobody has said the tree apologized.

On air: Kenji Moonfield on Late Night BBN
Published 12:17 AM ET, Saturday, October 17, 2026

At a glance

First reported by New York Post: “Massive tree comes crashing down on minivan along busy SoCal roadway”.
Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 12:17 AM ET on Late Night BBN, by Kenji Moonfield.
Topics: SoCal.
BBN covered this story before: SoCal agitators accused of stalking ICE agents with megaphone (October 16).

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

New York PostMassive tree comes crashing down on minivan along busy SoCal roadway

What BBN said about it

Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThe arguing starts early.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentNow to California, where a massive tree came down on a minivan along a busy roadway, and a witness told the New York Post it sounded like a loud crack.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentNobody was reported killed, and the video is everywhere. With us via satellite is Cornelius Okafor, principal partner at Brightwater Obvious Strategies.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentCornelius, what happened here?
Cornelius Haldane OkaforThank you, Kenji. As a rule of thumb, when a tree falls on a van, the tree is above the van.
Cornelius Haldane OkaforThat is a finding, and it is billable.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the whole insight is that the tree went down.
Cornelius Haldane OkaforDown, and quickly. Quickly is the premium tier.
Cornelius Haldane OkaforOur flowchart has one arrow, and it points at the van, which is why we charge four thousand dollars an hour.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThe witness said it started with a loud crack. Did your firm see that coming?
Cornelius Haldane OkaforWe would have seen it, but we were busy writing a report on the crack.
Cornelius Haldane OkaforAs a rule of thumb, a loud crack is louder than a quiet one.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThat's a rule of thumb?
Cornelius Haldane OkaforThe thumb is extra. So is this silence, which we are also billing, because a pause after a crack is a deliverable.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOkay, so what should the tree have done differently? Be specific.
Cornelius Haldane OkaforStay up. As a rule of thumb, a tree that stays up never lands on anything.
Cornelius Haldane OkaforWe will put that in a deck for ninety thousand dollars.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentIn a few minutes, we find out how long the wait is for a foldable phone that costs nearly two thousand dollars.
Cornelius Haldane OkaforLong. As a rule of thumb, waiting is longer than not waiting. Send me the invoice number for that one as well.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentI'll send the invoice for this interview. Wait, you're billing me for asking for the invoice?
Cornelius Haldane OkaforYes, and the clock is still running, so you owe me for this answer too.