Giant Tree Crushes Car With Driver Inside

A man had to be extricated from his car and was hospitalized Wednesday after a giant oak tree crushed his car in the Irish Channel. Police said the man was driving down Washington Avenue near Tchoupitoulas Street sometime after 7 p.m. when the tree, likely weakened by earlier heavy rains, toppled onto the street. New Orleans firefighters were called to rescue the man, who police said was alert and talking.