Tree Falls On House, Trapping Winona Woman Under Roof
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A Winona woman says she's lucky to be alive Wednesday night after a tree fell on her house.
Jane Brommerich was in her bedroom upstairs Monday evening when the cottonwood tree blew over and crashed into her room, narrowly missing her.
But a part of her roof kept her trapped on the floor.
"I just shut the window, and I stepped to the side as I heard the 'crack,'" Brommerich said.
Brommerich didn't even have time to process the sound she had just heard. In an instant, the giant cottonwood tree that had stood outside her family's farmhouse for decades came crashing through her bedroom.
"It hit the roof and everything came down and knocked me to the floor, and I couldn't get out," Brommerich said.
She lay there for an hour, trapped inside her own bedroom, with drywall and part of the roof on top of her. Her sister called 911 and eventually rescuers were able to get her out.
"I was a little nervous that more would come down," Brommerich said. "So I didn't move much until I knew somebody was there. I'm black and blue on my whole back and my head is sore."
Brommerich said the 100-year-old cottonwood was struck by lightning 10 years ago and survived. But it was the strong winds on Monday night that proved to be its downfall.
And once down, the tree has proven to be a headache. It took Reed's Tree Service two cranes and more than nine hours to get the trunk off the house.
"We normally use just one crane," said Bruce Reed, owner of Reed's Tree Service. "I'm guessing it was 7 feet in diameter, so that's a big tree."
Many of Brommerich's valuables are now at the mercy of Mother Nature. Her tree is gone and her house may soon follow, but even so, she feels very lucky.
"Take it one day at a time," she said. "We're just glad no one got hurt, seriously. Everything else is replaceable."
Her sister, Sara, lives in the house, too, but thankfully was not hurt.
Their insurance agent is expected to arrive Thursday morning, so they'll know if the house can be saved. But it doesn't look good, since Brommerich says the house was pushed off its foundation.
