Cedar Tree Keeps Car From Plunging Into Icy Pond

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A well-placed cedar tree Friday stopped a Du Quoin man's likely plunge into a pond on East Jackson Street Friday, according to the Du Quoin Police Department.

Chief of Police Mike Ward said a green Saturn Vue SUV was traveling on East Jackson Road during the onset of ice and snow Christmas eve when it skated and left the roadway.

The vehicle was headed for a pond in the front yard of Dr. Otto Mares when it hit the tree on the edge of the pond.

The vehicle received a broken window and a dented door.

The driver was not injured. There were a number of call-outs with all agencies and some of the paperwork on those calls is just now being processed.