Storm Causes Widespread Damage In Carroll County; No Injuries Reported
FINKSBURG, Md. (WJZ)-- The storm barreled through Carroll County taking down trees and causing major damage.
Meghan McCorkell reports.
Driving rain and frightening winds snapped trees like twigs in Carroll County.
"I saw the wind pick up. Trees in front of the house were bending over," Doug Swinton said.
Swinton and his wife were inside the bedroom of their Finksburg home when a 90-foot tree smashed through the roof, nearly hitting them.
"It was panic, just panic. My wife screaming trying to find the cats, water seeping down into the family room," Swinton said.
The tree tore through the roof making the home unlivable. Workers used a crane to remove it.
And the Swinton family wasn't alone.
One local tree service company says within just two hours after the storm they'd already received 50 phone calls.
"There was traffic lights out, limbs down. I was like, 'Oh, my golly!'" Pat Stansbury of Stansbury's Tree Service said.
Some Carroll County students found themselves in the middle of the storm.
"One bus driver did turn around. He was caught in a hail storm. He turned around and took those kids back to their school," Steve Guthrie, superintendent of Carroll County Schools, said.
"Everybody was scared and some were crying," Brianna Dewan, a student in Carroll County, said.
Schools that hadn't yet dismissed held students late to shelter them from the storm.
"All the lights just shut off and it was dark and then we all went into the room and put our heads down in a corner," Colin Dewan, a student, explained.
"I was just shocked and I was really scared because I haven't done this before," student Kayla Dewan said.
Shocked, like many, at the power of the storms as they came through.
Now, the hardest part-- the cleanup-- begins. The owner of one tree service company tells WJZ it will take several days for them to get to all the calls they had.
The good news is there are no reports of injuries in the county.
