SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — Two people are safe after a tree fell on their RV in northern Smith County Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
The incident happened around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 5300 block of Wind Dancer. The residents told KETK News that they escaped through the emergency exit on the RV.
According to Terry Linder, Smith County Deputy Fire Marshal, the two trees fell, each in a different direction and hit two different RVs, splitting one of them in half. The resident of the RV that was split in half luckily was not home, officials said.
Harold Howard, who lives in the other RV, said he was on his computer when he heard a loud crack and the tree fell on the RV causing things to crash on top of him.
“I heard a loud crack… came out and found a broken limb, called the landlord and said ‘Hey, limbs are breaking’ to let someone know they are breaking off. Sat back down about two minutes later, started to hear a louder crack and the whole side of my RV came in on top of me,” said RV owner, Harold Howard.
Howard said his wife and two dogs were trapped in the back of the RV, but community members and the fire marshal’s office were able to help her escape.
“I called 911 because she was trapped and I didn’t know how I was going to get everybody out,” said Howard.
Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office responded to the incident and said the winter weather has caused first responders to be busier than normal.
“We are seeing heavy sleet and snow. Of course, the roads have been bad, trees down, which has hampered first responders today with the amount of calls. Everything worked out with this one that she’s safe,” said Linder.
Ashlyn Anderson contributed to this report.