TYLER — Josie Gordon was preparing to lie her toddler down for a nap, as her 4-year-old son played in the next room, when she looked out of the window to see the roots of the tree directly after it’d fallen.
"All of a sudden, the wind just got crazy fast, and the wind was pushing the rain all over the place,” says Gordon. “It wasn't even going in one direction, and next thing I knew the tree was down.”
Within minutes, heavy winds ripped the tree from her front yard, barely missing the surrounding homes.
"That's one thing I just can't get pass. If it would've gone the other way, what would've happened?"
Thankful for the near miss but worried for her and her children's safety, Gordon frantically hurried for cover.
"I got to get us to safety. I ran to his room and got my son’s mattress and put that on top of us, because I didn't know what, if anything was going to happen next."
Once the storm calmed, the damage remained. The large tree blocking the street for hours overnight. City crews arrived around 4:30am Friday to remove as much of the tree as they could. But
smaller branches, limbs and debris were still scattered across the neighborhood.
"I'm very thankful to God that he was watching over us and that tree fell the other way instead of that way."
Crews told Gordon that the tree has shallow roots, and any amount of strong winds could've caused it to fall. Gordon and her family are renting the home. She plans to contact the owner of the property to clear the remains of the tree.