SAN DIEGO _ A vacationing North Dakota couple was killed early Monday after a tree with a trunk as wide as a car fell into the Point Loma Heights house they were renting.
A roughly 75-foot-tall tree fell into the house around 6:15 a.m., when there were strong gusts of wind. The ground had also been saturated from recent rains.
The couple, Troy and Jessica Nelson, ran a promotional products and decorated apparel company, Trojan Promotions, in Grand Forks, N.D. They were staying at a vacation rental house in the Point Loma Heights neighborhood of San Diego for the weekend after attending an industry expo last week, said Phoebee Stensland, the graphic designer and social media director for Trojan Promotions.
A third person, Jessica Nelson's brother Ryan Langerud, was also in the house at the time the tree fell, Stensland said. He survived.
The house is listed on VRBO as a vacation rental. It has nearly all five-star reviews.
A woman who was inside the house property Monday afternoon declined to comment. The neighbor next door also declined to comment.
Stensland said she remembers the Nelsons for the generosity and care they showed their employees.
"They were the kind of bosses that didn't feel like bosses," Stensland said. "They took really good care of the employees, all of us."
The Nelsons leave behind a German Shorthaired Pointer dog, Stella, whom Jessica adored, Stensland said.
Trojan Promotions was closed Monday but will continue the work their bosses left behind, Stensland said.
"As of now, we're carrying on. We're still working with our clients and doing what we need to take care of them for the foreseeable future," Stensland said. "They built a great team and they built a great business and we can continue on."
