:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(718x486:720x488)/tree-apartment-north-carolina-111425-1-4603a455143643d6a77a9174cd71ee41.jpg?ssl=1 "70-Year-Old Grandma Survives After Her Apartment Is Suddenly Crushed by Tree")
NEED TO KNOW
- A 70-year-old woman survived after a large tree crushed through her bed at the Oasis at Regal Oaks apartment building in Charlotte, N.C. on Oct. 31
- Lenore Richardson opened up about the scary incident, saying that after hearing “a crack,” she was “looking at the sky”
- Richardson, a grandma, said that she thought about her 3-month-old grandson while trapped, adding, “I was just like, ‘I have to see him, I can’t not let him know who I am’ ”
A 70-year-old woman is grateful to be alive after nearly being crushed by a tree that crashed into her apartment building.
On Friday, Oct. 31, Lenore Richardson was sitting on her bed at the Oasis at Regal Oaks in Charlotte, N.C., when a large tree suddenly fell into her bedroom, according to reporting by WSOC, ABC News and WTVD.
Looking back on the incident in a Wednesday, Nov. 12 interview with WSOC, Richardson recalled that she was getting comfortable in bed when she “heard a crack,” adding, “and then I’m looking at the sky.”
A tree had fallen into her bedroom, leaving her trapped.
“I have to keep telling myself, even though you lost everything, you’re still here. And I was so afraid I wasn’t gonna be here,” she said about the incident through tears.
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Although she attempted to free herself, Richardson said that it was too heavy and recalled feeling panicked.
“I was like, ‘This is heavy! I can’t get out of here,’ ” she told the outlet.
According to reports, the headboard to Richardson’s bed stopped the tree from falling on her directly and saved her from major damage.
Richardson said that the first firefighter who walked into her bedroom seemed to fear that she had been crushed.
“I could see on his face, he’s like, ‘This is not good.’ You could see it in his face, like ‘There’s something bad up here,’ ” she recalled. “And when he saw me, I said, ‘I have to get out of here,’ and he lit up and said, ‘That’s okay, we have you. We’re gonna’ get you out.’ ”
“The fire department was so nice to me,” she added.
Footage obtained by WSOC shows the collapsed tree that landed in Richardson’s apartment with wreckage strewn about.
Despite the tragic site, the grandmother came out of the incident with just bruises and marks on her arms and shoulders.
She told WSOC that she was motivated to stay alive because of her grandson.
“My grandson is 3 months old and I was just like, ‘I have to see him, I can’t not let him know who I am,’ ” she said.
Speaking to WSOC in October, Battalion Chief Tristan Durban said that several of Richardson’s neighbors attempted to help her before first responders arrived on the scene.
“Thank goodness for good neighbors,” he said.
