Women injured by fallen tree sue owner of Orange building

BOSTON (WGGB/WSHM) — Three women who were struck by a fallen tree in Orange last summer are going to court to get justice from the property owner who they say is responsible for the near-fatal incident. It would not be the owner’s first fallen tree. Victim’s lawyers claim it was the second time in just six months and the latest situation involved much more than clearing trees as three women are now picking up the pieces of their lives.

Three months ago, Danyelle Bushee walked with ease. Now she can barely climb the stairs. “Life is really hard. I can’t get up by myself, I can’t walk or do anything by myself. It’s really tough. I was so independent before, so life was very depressing,” she said.

Danyelle Bushee, her sister Brittany Bushee and Melissa Chiasson were all injured in the August incident. In a lawsuit, they accuse Danyelle Bushee’s neighbor, Peter Rocklin, of failing to take care of a rotting tree on his rental property that caused all this.

“The problem was preventable. It was an easy solution. There are people in this area who do this kind of work. He refused or he did not act,” said Attorney Michael Kelly.

Kelly provided us with the bodycam footage of the incident. Danyelle Bushee’s injuries have left her in a brace. Brittany Bushee still has memory and hearing loss. “I don’t remember much of what happened a few minutes ago, nothing from a few days ago, it’s short term,” Birttany Bushee noted.

Chiasson is going to physical therapy and the mental pain was still too great to speak Tuesday morning. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” he said.

Kelly said Rocklin doesn’t seem to be the friendly neighbor we all hope to have. They say neither he nor his insurance attorneys have responded to the victims or their attorneys. “We have contacted him. He picked up the phone and said, “Is she dead?” We said, ‘No, thank God.’ He hung up and blocked us,” he explained.

Rocklin also did not respond to our calls. He had no comment when we first called. When we tried again, we left a message that was not returned.