'Unbelievable To Look At This Room And Think A Child Survived': Storms Leave Behind Trail Of Destruction In Cherry Hill
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) -- Saturday night's wild weather left its mark throughout Camden County. It left a trail of destruction throughout Cherry Hill, including downed power lines and trees with one crashing into a 1-year-old's bedroom.
"Like a train going by, like a locomotive," resident David Reeder said. "Very loud noises."
All over Cherry Hill, there are tree limbs and closures.
"I mean we've had trees down before, but this is the strongest I've seen," Larry Trerotoli said.
Nearly 1,700 Camden County customers were without power Sunday, according to PSE&G's website.
Neighbors say the winds came so fast, so furious through the area, it uprooted not only a tree but about 12 feet of concrete nearly perpendicular to the ground.
Chapel Avenue features cracked utility poles and fallen trees that took large slabs of grass with them.
Concetta Perry woke up to see her neighbor's downed tree caught by another.
"Sure with the way that wind was blowing, who knows which way it could have went. It was like, 'Thank God,'" Perry said.
Michael Gallo was not as lucky.
"When we heard the sound last night, it sounded like the entire house was shaking and it just wouldn't stop," Gallo said. "I've never heard anything like that."
A tree branch crashed through his roof into his 1-year-old foster child's bedroom, falling feet from their crib.
"It's a disaster," Gallo said. "It's unbelievable to look at this room and think a child survived being in this room."
The tree tore across the room into his young son's bedroom, resting mere feet from his Spider-Man bed sheets.
"We were luckily able to get him. We waded through the sea of insulation to get to the baby," Gallo said, "and made it outside and looked at the sky to see what would fall next. But we're alive."
