Head of New Jersey cancer society killed when tree falls on car in Colts Neck

COLTS NECK, N.J. -- A New Jersey community is in mourning after a freak and tragic accident led to the death of a woman who had helped raise millions of dollars for cancer research.

Forty-six-year-old Stacey Weathers, the executive director of New Jersey's chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, was killed in Colts Neck Saturday afternoon when a tree fell on her vehicle during a storm.

Police say Weathers was driving a Mustang convertible down a stretch of Route 34, passing a section of a tree-lined street at the exact same moment the tree snapped in half.

"And as that tree came down, the top part hit the top of the car," Police Chief Kevin Sauter said.

Sauter says Weathers most likely died instantly.

For the past 11 years, she was the executive director of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's regional office in Cranford. She lived in Tinton Falls, where friends spent Monday mourning with her family.

Friends and colleagues said the woman's death is a huge loss for people with blood cancer. She helped raise $7 million at the society to support patients and fund cancer research.

Her daughter, Emilie Boman, said Weathers "loves seeing other people happy."

"She never did it for the name, she just wanted to help people," said Boman, 19.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the tree to fall and strike Weathers' vehicle, authorities said. The accident remains under investigation.

"I tell my guys every day, when God decides its your time, there's nothing we can be able to do about that," Sauter said. "It's just a tragic accident that occurred."