MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Tropical Storm Elsa left one family with quite a bit of cleanup after a large oak tree came down on their Marion County home Wednesday morning. The family of four made it out safely.
It happened along Northeast 20th Street in Ocala around 9:15 a.m.
[TRENDING: Deputy suspended over TikTok videos | Fla. teacher arrested in Capitol riot | Grizzly bear kills bicyclist]
“We heard something that say boom. Looked out the door and there’s the tree,” Bernard Tyler said.
Tyler rushed outside and saw the massive tree that came crashing onto his stepson’s home next door.
“We went over there. I called 911 for them. Made sure everybody was OK,” Tyler said.
He said his stepson’s family of four were inside when the tree fell. He’s crediting his stepdaughter who moved the family’s sofa out of the living room for saving their lives.
“This side where it hit at, that’s the living room,” Tyler said. “She had just moved it from over there for the kids to lay on to sleep and she moved it last night, I guess, and it came down. Good thing they moved it.”
Power crews out were out Wednesday afternoon working to restore power for customers like Jayde Dean in Ocala.
“So we decided to get in our car and go to the store. Pass the time by and get some AC,” Dean said. “We didn’t have power for three hours.”
Emergency leaders said now is a good time to get hurricane supplies and be ready.