Woman says branch from dying tree on next-door Detroit Land Bank house lot hit her home, and is a danger

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A dying tree has become a living nightmare for Veronica Thomas. One of its larger branches came crashing down Sunday hitting Thomas’ house and blocking her driveway.

"Had I stayed a little bit longer where I was, I would’ve been dead because it would’ve fallen right on me," she said. "It was so large it went all the way back here where my car is."

The tree is in the front yard of a vacant home next door.  The Detroit Land Bank Authority owns the property, but a spokeswoman says they were unaware of the situation until we called them about it.

"The house is vacant, I get that. but this is not only an eyesore, it’s dangerous," Thomas said. "It’s a danger."

Thomas says another large branch fell on her house seven years ago, destroying her gutters and forced her to replace her roof.

She wants the tree removed before something worse happens.

"If it doesn’t hurt me or do tremendous property damage to my house, it’s going to kill somebody coming down the street," she said.

FOX 2 reached out to the Land Bank and they’re sending an inspector out to assess the tree for removal.

A spokeswoman says due to budget constraints, tree maintenance is limited to situations where the tree is an imminent threat to occupied homes' residents and public rights-of-way. 

The Land Bank says with 85,000 parcels in its inventory it’s critical residents reach out to them with concerns about problematic trees on those properties.

If there’s something you think they should know about, email the property address, contact information, description, and photos to inquire@detroitlandbank.org

The full statement from Alyssa Strickland of the Detroit Land Bank Authority:

We will have an inspector assess the tree for removal tomorrow. Unfortunately, we didn't learn about this situation until we were contacted today by FOX 2. With more than 85,000 parcels in our inventory, it is important that residents alert us to concerns about trees on DLBA-owned properties. Due to budget constraints, tree maintenance is limited to situations where the tree is an imminent threat to occupied homes/residents and public rights-of-way. The best way to let us know about a tree concern is to email the property address, contact information, description, and photos to inquire@detroitlandbank.org