Monday morning started like any other for Ohsha Keys and her daughter, Oceana Hall, in their Hendricks Street apartment. That was until Keys heard something “pop real loud” as a large pine tree was uprooted roughly 50 feet away and crashed into her apartment, trapping Hall in her room.
With Hall, who thankfully only suffered minor cuts and bruises, unable to get out of her room on her own, Keys rushed in and dragged her daughter to safety.
“I’m just glad it didn’t hurt her,” Keys said. “I just seen my daughter struggling trying to get out that door, and my first instinct was to get my daughter out.”
The tree smashed through the roof and side wall of the apartment building, directly hitting Hall’s room.
“I never experienced anything like that before,” Keys said.
Columbia Fire Chief Jeff McKenzie said the ground in the area is getting so wet that trees are losing the strength they should have with their rooting system and falling.
While only Keys’ apartment took a direct hit, McKenzie said the ceiling of the first floor of the two-story complex was beginning to collapse. He added that the fire department evacuated the building and prohibited residents from returning for safety concerns.
“There’s a lot of significant damage there,” he said. “It could have been a fatality — it’s that serious.”
The fire chief added that Hendricks Street Apartments would need to hire a contractor to remove the tree and make arrangements for either repairs or condemnation of the building.
The property manager for the complex declined to comment Monday.
