First picture of man, 29, killed after tree crushed car in Storm Boelo

Images of James Abiwon have been left at the scene where a tree hit his car (Picture: Supplied)

The family of a man who died after a tree crushed his car in Storm Boelo have been left ‘devastated’.

James Abiwon, 29, was driving along Dollis Road in Mill Hill, north London, when the tree fell over and crushed his car in high winds at around 12.30pm on Sunday.

The witness, 39 – who does not wish to be named – laid flowers in memory of the man at the spot where the tragedy unfolded.

She told Metro: ‘I heard a helicopter whirring near my house and wondered what was going on. I raced out, and there it was: a tree covering the whole road, and you could just make out a car beneath.

‘You just could not get at it. Then his girlfriend turned up. She was in bits.

‘Another guy walked down the road; he was the best friend of the guy in the car.

James’ family are ‘inconsolable’ (Picture: Supplied) The tree crushed the car (Picture: Omri Stephenson)

‘They were shaking; it was awful to see.

‘It was impossible to get the tree off; the car was totally flattened.

‘They were just waiting and hoping he would come out, but the damage was awful. At one stage, his possessions could be seen covered in blood; it was just a terrible scene. No one could have survived that.’

His friend Kwame Affum, 29, who has known him since the age of 13, said he was ‘heartbroken’.

He told Metro at the scene of the incident: ‘I’m trying hard to get my head around this. I played padel with him just on Friday.

‘One of our friends messaged him just before the accident on Sunday because we owed him money for the court. He didn’t answer and the alarm bells started ringing.’

He said of his friend: ‘He loved sport; he was a good footballer and supported Arsenal.

‘He was just good at everything. He got a first at uni and was doing brilliantly at his job. He had just won an award.

‘He was full of energy and talent. He was going to celebrate his 30th birthday in two weeks. It just seems impossible this has happened.’

Police officers, paramedics, firefighters and an air ambulance were all called following the incident.

James – a tech sales executive who gained a first from the University of Essex – was pronounced dead at the scene, and the road was closed off.

It has since reopened, with flowers and cards left at the scene in his memory. The tree has been cleared, leaving a large crater where the tree was rooted.

Tributes left at the scene in Mill Hill, north London (Picture: John Dunne) James, 29, was a tech sales executive (Picture: Supplied)

The witness added: ‘The tree and branches were across the road. The man’s aunties and other family came later; they were just inconsolable.

‘I’ve not been able to get it out of my mind. He was obviously so well loved. We have just lost one of our community.’

Locals said traffic on the road was heavy at the time of the incident as a nearby street had been closed due to roadworks, funnelling more vehicles towards the site of the incident.

A neighbour whose house overlooks the scene said: ‘If it had been 10 minutes later, it could have been me.

‘That poor young man being in the wrong place at the around time in such a way is a tragedy. All our hearts go out to his family and friends.’

A police statement said: ‘A man in his 20s has died in north London after a tree fell on the car he was driving during Storm Boelo. On Sunday, the Metropolitan Police were called to Dollis Road in Finchley at around 12.40 GMT to reports a tree had fallen onto a moving car. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.’

Storm Boelo swept across the UK with gusts of up to 84 mph over the weekend, following on from Storm Austen on Friday.

A man, 60, was also killed by a falling tree in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland as the storm took its toll, with others across the UK injured.

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