MIDDLE SMITHFIELD TOWNSHIP -- A tree came down Wednesday morning in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and crushed the roof of a car. The driver in that car was on his way to work and was killed.
That 80-foot tree fell down along Route 209 around 6 a.m. Wednesday, taking the life of a man from Bushkill who was on his way to work in New Jersey.
That part of Route 209 in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area was hammered by storms. The tree fell across both lanes and onto the car, killing the driver.
"The trees were also filled with water, so combine that with the wet soft ground on a slope and that seems to be what caused the tree to come down,” said Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area spokesperson Kathleen Sandt.
Manual Loureiro, 31, of Bushkill was killed on his way to work in New Jersey. The National Park Service says it recently removed some potentially hazardous trees from nearby River Road.
“We're constantly out there looking and assessing, but again with 70,000 acres and most of that forested, we don't always see every tree,” said Sandt.
Hikers from Canada noticed trees down all over the park, possibly from the storms.
"Yes, we saw three big trees, super big trees like this one and they're completely destroyed,” said Emmanuelle Doyom of Montreal.
The heavy rain also impacted other parts of Monroe County. Video sent to Newswatch 16 by a viewer shows flooding in Cresco. Cranberry Creek Road was impassable.
Photos from Long Pond showed water pooling near the road by Pocono Raceway.
Now crews across the county are working to clean it all up.
Near Mount Pocono maintenance crews spent part of Tuesday night and Wednesday trying to repair roads in Paradise Township.
“Flooding, a lot of drains washed in, so we're cleaning them up and getting the drains to work properly,” said Paradise Township maintenance worker Shawn Martin.
Sam D’Alessandro fishes often in Cranberry Creek and came to assess some of the damage.
“The worst is behind us, unless we get more rain which would be devastating,” said D’Alessandro.
Many roads remained closed throughout the morning for cleanup.
Rangers at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area say levels in the Delaware River are so high that life jackets are required for anyone going on the river, but they are hoping conditions will improve before the Fourth of July weekend.