Southfield homeowner escapes harm after collapsed tree trapped him inside
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - Severe weather turned one Southfield family's week into a nightmare when a century-old tree was ripped out of the ground and collapsed on their home, trapping them inside.
Stacie Tucker was already seeing debris fly past his window with loud booms echoing through the home when his kids came running into the hall, screaming.
"We ball up in the corner and suddenly ‘BOOM’ the tree smashed," he said.
A 200-foot-tall tree had crashed into the bedroom where Tucker's grandchildren had planned on sleeping that night. The storm arrived in three minutes, but it would take much longer to rescue the family with their access outside blocked.
"I can’t get out, so I try to go the front door. The tree's got me blocked," said Tucker, recounting the incident. "I go to the back door. Tree got me blocked. It's black in the house and all we see is rain."
Fearful of the live power lines sitting in the wet grass, the family had no choice than to stay put in the darkness as rain poured in from the gashed ceiling.
It's the latest example of severe weather appearing amid Michigan's sweltering heat wave that has cooked the region in near-hundred degree temperatures. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people have lost power due to thunderstorms that have cropped up this week.
The latest was Thursday night when parts of Oakland County were damaged enough that Beverly Hills has ordered a state of emergency.
Over in Southfield, the Tucker family is thankful it wasn't any worse.
"No one got hurt. It was amazing too, because if that tree would've twisted another way it would've smashed and came down harder."
Now, Tucker is just waiting for the insurance company to assess the damage.
More heat is on the way and storms are projected to continue into the weekend.
State of Emergency declared in Beverly Hills after damaging storms
A State of Emergency was issued in Beverly Hills as crews and residents work to clean up after this week's damaging thunderstorms.