By: Shannon Hegy

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) -- Lance Hamilton and his nephew feel lucky to be alive.  They were playing basketball in their driveway Saturday afternoon when Mother Nature let loose.

"Out of nowhere we heard a crackling noise and the tree just started coming down," said Hamilton.  "I ran inside as fast as I could.  I was scared!"

A strong gust of wind knocked down the massive tree in Hamilton's backyard on Noel Street in Springfield, narrowly missing him and his cousin and damaging the side of his house, but that damage was small compared to what happened next door.

"It was like a oooooh sort of noise and I ran to the front of the house 'cause I didn't know what it was," said Casandra Mitchell.  "Then I heard this crash."

The tree not only crashed through Mitchell's porch, it completely crushed her car.

Strong winds ripped through Western Massachusetts on Saturday, some reaching speeds of up to 60 mph.

Sixteen-year-old Michael Torcia was driving down Roosevelt Avenue in Springfield when Mother Nature struck again.

"I was like a second away from getting hurt," said Torcia.

A gust of wind ripped a large limb off of a tree on the side of the road and dropped it right onto Torcia's car.  He walked away without a scratch.

In West Springfield, the wind knocked out power to the entire Riverdale Shopping Plaza for about 45 minutes.  During that time, Panera was forced to serve strictly pastries, and many Stop and Shop customers had to find somewhere else to go.

"I was planning on making corn oyster soup," said Janice Katsoulis, "but, I can't get my oysters here so I guess I'll take myself over to Chicopee."

According to Western Massachusetts Electric Company, midday Saturday, when the wind was at its peak, over 5,000 customers from Springfield all the way to Lee were without power.

Casandra Mitchell says she's still shocked that wind could cause so much damage.  She's just thankful it didn't cause more.

"You can replace a car," said Mitchell.  "I'm just glad no one got hurt."