Cecil County Family Shares Its Near-Death Experience During Friday's Storm
CECIL COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- Families across Maryland continue to pick up the pieces from Friday night's deadly storms.
Rochelle Ritchie spoke to one Cecil County family who barely escaped death.
The family is still waiting to find out if their home is a total loss. Evidence of the near-death experience is still in the front yard.
He's only 6 years old, but Benny Dixon knows all too well the sound of fear. He was asleep Friday night when his parents burst into his room, snatching him and his little sister out of bed.
"Daddy said we had to go to another safe place. We went to the bathroom closet," he said.
His parents say they could hear the howling winds and crackling trees outside of their home. What happened next nearly killed them.
"My husband knew right away the tree fell through the house," said Meghan Dixon.
A tree, more than 100 years old and standing more than 100 feet high, came crashing down on top of the one-story home.
"All your ears could do was pop and it was so much noise, you couldn't concentrate," said Meghan Dixon.
The family escaped through the bedroom window. The damage outside was bad, but inside it's worse. Insulation, buckled walls and tree limbs now decorate the living room.
"Our bedroom was straight across," said Meghan.
"We always said we would go to the bathroom because we would be behind the fireplace," said Ben Dixon.
Though devastated, the family says they're grateful.
"Still got each other. We are all safe, no injuries," said Ben. "All we can do is move on."
The home has been in the family for more than 60 years.
The family says the volunteer firefighters from Hex Point are helping to clean up the mess.
