‘Grateful to be alive, it’s a miracle’: Alabama woman paralyzed after tree falls on her car during storms

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (WHNT) — A woman is paralyzed from the chest down after a tree fell on her car during severe storms that rolled through the Shoals on May 20.

For 28-year-old Angel Gatrey, the day that changed her life started out just like any other day. She was driving her brother and son to an appointment when the storms struck.

“By the time we were finished with their doctor’s appointments, it started to rain and we kind of got caught up in it,” Gatrey said.

Severe storms hit the Shoals area that afternoon, hard and fast.

“The storms just let out immediately, it went from 0-100 quick, it started with extreme rain, I could barely see, and I started to slow down,” Gatrey said.

Gatrey was driving down Reservation Road in Muscle Shoals when a large tree fell and landed on her car.

“It just seemed like it fell out of the sky, it came from the other side of the road, so I didn’t see any trees shifting or anything like that, all I seen was the rain, and next thing I know, a huge tree landed on us,” Gatrey said.

Gatrey’s car was crushed in half. Her brother and son were safe, but she was pinned under the weight of the tree, entrapped and pinned inside.

“It was like the tree folded my car into the back of my head, so I was folded forward, and that’s why I couldn’t talk, so the tree wasn’t on my body,” Gatrey said.

After being taken to an area hospital, where they realized how badly she was hurt, Gatrey was taken to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville. She underwent spinal cord surgery immediately to try and see what they could.

“I have a class A spinal cord injury, so I’m not able to feel from my chest down, and my hands are still coming back into functioning,” Gatrey said.

She says it was by the grace of God that she’s alive.

“I’m so grateful to be alive, and I am excited and curious to see how god works through this situation because it felt like a freak accident, but I know God is sufficient in all circumstances,” she said.

Gatrey tells News 19, she will be in the hospital for at least another week. She says after she gets out, she plans to start rehab as soon as doctors let her.