A woman has sued the city of Long Beach, alleging a 15-foot-long branch from a dead or rotting eucalyptus tree fell on her car as she was driving on Atlantic Avenue last year.

The branch, which was 6-inches in diameter, left a crater in the car’s hood and sent the woman to the hospital with excruciating neck and back pain, according to the lawsuit filed Oct. 4 in Long Beach Superior Court.

City Attorney Charles Parkin said Long Beach hasn’t yet been served with the lawsuit so he couldn’t respond to its accusations.

The suit says Crystal Whitsett was headed south on Atlantic at 61st Street on the afternoon of Dec. 1 when the branch fell from a tree in the center median.

“Ms. Whitsett came to a stop after the tree branch rolled over the top of her vehicle,” according to the lawsuit.

Whitsett accuses the city of being negligent in maintaining the trees in the median.

Her lawsuit doesn’t specify how much money her attorneys believe she’s entitled to, but it estimates the amount is more than $100,000.

Whitsett is a single mother who still has trouble bending, lifting or doing other basic tasks to take care of her kids because of the injuries, according to the lawsuit.

Whitsett’s attorneys didn’t return a call.

Jeremiah Dobruck is managing editor of the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.