60-foot tree crashes onto family's roof, yard during storms

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A 60-foot ash tree crashed onto a family's home during a storm while the family was inside. Thankfully, no one was injured.

David Durango was sleeping around 5 p.m. Sunday after work at the house he rents with his mom and sister on Buckingham Place in Duluth.

At the time, there were storms moving through parts of metro Atlanta.

Suddenly, two sounds woke him up: tree ripping apart and his sister screaming.

The large tree towering over the front of the house split in two spots and came crashing down. The tree pulled power and cable lines down with it.

Durango said his crying mother ran outside, worried the cars were damaged.

“She rushed outside when it was raining and moved the cars,” Durango said.

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Now, crews have the dangerous job of dismantling the tree.

One Two Tree co-owner Evan Wynn is leading the tree removal job. He told us he’s assessed the trees on the property before but never saw this coming.

“We never even talked about this tree, and it looked good. Everything was fine on it, but I guess there was a weak point. That’s the issue with trees. You can never see the interior of them,” Wynn said.

A day after the storms, Durango is grateful his mom and sister are alright.

“I’m grateful that they didn’t get hurt," Durango said.

“Firefighters responded to several storm-related incidents on Sunday afternoon. It was a line of thunderstorms that we had already been getting severe weather warnings or storm warnings from the National Weather Service on,” said Captain Tommy Rutledge, Gwinnett Fire Department.

Rutledge said a tree also blocked First Avenue and Elizabeth Way Sunday, and lightning struck a chimney on Berry Hall Road. He said the damage overall was minor, and no one was hurt.

Cox Media Group