Couple living in camper after tree destroys house
WASHINGTON TWP — Awaking to the sound of a loud bang, Candace Lee, of Hilliards, said she looked out her window on Friday, Aug. 25, to a see a large tree had fallen on her home. It was 1:33 a.m.
Coincidentally, her home’s address is 133 Kohlmeyer Road.
“My husband, Jack, he has a bad time sleeping. He was sitting up in our back room when he heard what sounded like a train coming,” she said. “I was in bed sleeping, it shook the house. Got me out of bed.”
A Friday night storm caused the tree to topple on the Lees home, where they have lived since 1968.
The tree destroyed most of the kitchen and front living room, forcing the Lees, who are both in their 70s, out of the home and into a 25-foot camper on the property.
“It’s partway on the house, the rest of the house is fine,” Candace said. “We have no internet or anything. We’re on temporary electric.”
The trees were on the property when they moved in, and Candace describes the one that fell as “absolutely humongous.”
“You would not believe the size of this tree,” she said.
As of Tuesday, the tree is still sitting on the Lees’ house, sinking further in every day.
“Thank God our friends and neighbors have done more for us than any of these companies we pay bills to,” she said. “I’m just so frustrated.”
She explained the insurance company has yet to visit the home and survey the damage.
“I can’t send pictures (of the damage) from my phone; our phone service is so sketchy,” she added.
Neighbors have rallied around them in their time of need, Candace said, bringing food, getting water and ice, and getting clothes out of the house. They even carried a refrigerator to the garage to use for food storage.
“(Candace) called me at 7 a.m. on Friday, and we helped get what we could out of the house into the camper,” said Kathy Boggs, a friend of the Lees.
“We couldn’t even get (our cars) out,” she said, explaining that the tree trunk was blocking the driveway. “Our neighbor cut it up, got us out all by himself, in case I had to take (Jack) to the hospital.”
Jack had returned home from being in the hospital the day before the tree fell, Candace said.
“He’s on heart medication ... I’m waiting on him to have a heart attack from all this,” she said.
