Two people were killed in Philly suburbs and two injured in Lancaster as trees toppled on their cars

Two people were killed by toppling trees in Philadelphia’s suburbs Wednesday, as heavy rains fell on already-saturated ground and powerful eastern winds ripped through the region, leading to flooding and downed trees throughout the region Thursday.

In Montgomery County, Collegeville police said 82-year-old Mary Baker died after a large tree collapsed on her vehicle just past 1 p.m., as winds gusted up to 37 mph. Baker, of Perkiomen Township, was stopped at the intersection of Main Street and Ninth Avenue when the tree fell, police said, trapping her inside her 2006 Subaru. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

Collegeville Borough Police Chief Barton Bucher on Thursday called the incident a “horrible, random tragedy.” No one else was injured by the falling tree, he said, including another driver sitting at the red light behind Baker.

Hours later in Delaware County, another large tree crashed through the roof of a 70-year-old man’s Chevy Cruze as he drove south on Pennell Road near Mount Alverno Road in Aston Township, crushing the vehicle. The man, Michael Kranyak, of Wilmington, Del., died from his injuries, said Aston Township Police Sgt. Michael Ruggieri. Officers were called to the scene around 6:30 p.m., Ruggieri said, when the National Weather Service reported winds from the east gusting up to 32 mph.

No other injuries were reported, Ruggieri said. He called the accident “unavoidable” and “tragic.”

Just past noon Wednesday in Lancaster County, as rain and 36 mph winds pummeled the area, Pennsylvania State Police said two people were seriously injured when a large tree uprooted and fell through the windshield of a Toyota Highlander heading north on Black Rock Road in Colerain Township, not far from the Chester County border. Both people were transported to Lancaster General Hospital, police said.

Heavy rains this week have drenched the Philadelphia region, which remained under threat of flooding Thursday — part of a severe weather mega-system generating tornado watches in the Midwest, and soaking the Northeast.

That’s atop the past months in Philadelphia, which have seen record-setting rainfalls, with December the third-wettest on record, and March the fourth-most rainy. April thus far has followed suit, with four straight days of showers, and rains running well above normal over the last 30 days, according to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center. In Bucks County Thursday afternoon, the Delaware River spilled over its banks near Bristol. The river crested near Newbold Island at just over 11 feet around 12:30 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey, with minor flooding expected in the evening at high tide.

Since Dec. 1, the ground in the Philadelphia region has been saturated by more than two feet of rain, heightening the threat of downed trees. And while “trees are incredibly resilient,” said Jason Parker, a manager with the Davey Tree Expert Company, Wednesday’s power winds from the east — the opposite of the region’s prevailing winds — can be a source of “stress,” making some trees vulnerable and more prone to collapse.

Throughout Montgomery County, Wednesday’s storms left downed wires and trees, predominantly toward the west, said Todd Stieritz, spokesperson for the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety. Stieritz encouraged drivers to stay off the roads if possible during strong winds and heavy rains, to never approach downed wires or trees, and to avoid driving through flooded roads.

“There’s no way to tell, simply sitting there in the driver’s seat, how deep it is or how fast the water is moving,” he said.

Staff writer Anthony R. Wood contributed to this article.