1 injured when tree falls onto Manalapan Township home
MANALAPAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- A tree came crashing down on home in New Jersey on Saturday while the family was inside, injuring at least one person.
Rain continued to soak through the inside of the home Saturday night after a tree came crashing down earlier in the day, slicing through the roof and top floor of the home.
"I was actually taking a nap. I thought it was an earthquake," resident Paul Kimmel said.
That rumbling was from the tree, which has been sitting next to their home for the past several decades.
- Related story: Tropical Storm Ophelia forms off East Coast. Here's the forecast for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
"I was a little dazed. I was like, what happened? Then I got up and my first concern was my family," Kimmel said.
Kimmel, his 27-year-old daughter and their dogs were upstairs. His wife was downstairs.
"We called 911 immediately. We could not get out through the-- we couldn't get down the steps. It's a two-level house. The steps were blocked. The whole roof caved in," Kimmel said. "They took us out through the window in the bedroom."
The family says the initial impact was to the dining room and kitchen. Cassidy Kimmel says her older sister was injured and is now in the hospital.
"I think they're making sure she doesn't have any brain bleeds. She's getting a CAT scan, and hopefully nothing serious," Cassidy Kimmel said.
The family called a tree removal company to assess the damage.
"It looked like it had a little dead wood in it, but trees are very deceiving. I didn't know which way it was leaning before, but this is crazy. And this looks like a fairly new driveway, as you can see," said a tree removal employee.
They tell us they will be back Sunday with the proper equipment to start the process.
"This is a pretty decent-sized job," the tree removal employee said. "We're going to have to pick piece by piece."
The Kimmel family is emotional for many reasons. This is the house their children grew up in, and right now, they have no idea if the home is a complete loss.
But they are grateful everyone made it out alive.