California girl, 8, killed by falling tree

A towering pine tree fell following northern California's weekend snowstorm, landing on a house and killing an 8-year-old girl inside, authorities said. Hailey Verzani's body was found in her bedroom in her family's Arnold residence about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, pinned between the 100-foot-tall tree and her bed, KTXL-TV, Sacramento, reported. "The whole house is torn up. It's awful," said a cousin, Kim Christopher. Ebbetts Pass District Fire Chief Dave Baugher said firefighters had to use rescue equipment to secure the tree before being able to remove the child's body. The third-grader's mother, Lindsey Jacoby, and her mother's boyfriend escaped without serious injuries. Relatives said they had noticed the big tree was leaning and could fall, but since it was on a neighbor's property they didn't know what to do about it. "We just didn't know it was going to fall on her like that," Christopher said.