A couple that was in their bedroom when a large tree crashed through the roof during wild weather Monday night are lucky to be alive, says their neighbour.

The city says lightning forced the tree through the roof of the Port Coquitlam home around 11 p.m.

One man was taken to hospital with minor injuries, but is expected to be okay.

George Remsay said his neighbours were in bed during the storm, but the husband got up to take a look just before the tree crashed into their room. He was hurt but his wife was miraculously uninjured.

“The bed was impaled by two by fours from the roof, and it’s a tile roof. And a bunch of tiles were lying on the bed. They’re very lucky,” Remsay said.

The tree also caused a lot of damage behind the home and “basically split apart part of the house,” says CTV Morning Live reporter Sheila Scott.

The home has some structural damage but the residents will be allowed back in after the mess is cleaned up.

Neighbours said they had been concerned about this tree for a while and had asked the city to trim it back.

Remsay said the city trimmed back “a few branches” after receiving several complaints last year, but believes they could have done more.

“If you look at the height of these trees, and this wind, it’s not stable. It could have killed two people,” he said.

The tree came down as a lightning storm moved through the area. Lightning was spotted in other parts of Metro Vancouver, including Burnaby, New Westminster and Coquitlam.