'Horrific Boom': High Winds Send Tree Crashing Into Delaware County Home
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MEDIA, Pa. (CBS) - A Delaware County couple narrowly escaped injury after strong winds sent a tree crashing through their roof and into their bedroom while they slept. It happened around 2:30 a.m. Monday on the 900 block of North Orange Street in Media.
The large tree came crashing down on the home, splitting the roof open. The homeowner tells Eyewitness News he and his wife heard the wind but then the tree came down without warning, knocking down their chimney, gutters and plaster.
"All of a sudden we heard a couple of branches just hit the back of the house and just this horrific boom. You hear plaster all over the place and woke up to find a tree coming through my closet about three feet off of the floor of the bedroom," said Steve Olkowski. "The tree basically uprooted out of the ground without snapping. So again, that will be another major clean up trying to get the tree out and all of the wood out of the house."
The couple was not hurt, but they did have to crawl out of their bedroom under the tree to get to safety.
"When we woke up, we had to crawl under the tree and push the branches from the back door," he said. "I look up at the roof once we got out and it looks like the tree split the middle of the house. It went about 10 feet before it stopped."
The couple who lives in the home is staying with relatives nearby until an engineer can inspect the home to make sure it's structurally sound.
A high wind warning went into effect starting 2 p.m. Sunday for Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs. The warning is set to expire at 6 p.m. Monday, with possible wind gusts of upwards of 60 miles per hour.
