RICHMOND, Va. -- Several homes and cars were damaged and more than 600 people lost power after a massive oak tree came crashing down Friday morning in Richmond.
Neighbors said this is not the first time a tree has come crashing down on South Meadow in the Maymont neighborhood.
The city was previously working on tree trimming in the area but stopped recently.
”We were all asleep, our daughter was in our bed with us and we just heard a big crash," Katie Strange said.“ When I first heard the crash I know exactly what it was because we’ve had this issue before with trees, so unfortunately I’m very familiar with the crashing tree.”
Neighbors are nervous since they said this is not the first time a tree has caused major damage in their community.
“We actually used to have another tree in our front yard and when we were moving in it fell on somebody else’s car that was also parked here,” Tracey Vier said.
Photos from May of 2018 show another tree that came crashing down and pierced the house and smashed into its roof.
May 2018 damage
Richmond Public Works officials confirmed the tree that fell was on the list to be removed in the fall.
“All of a sudden It snapped in half and fell on my house and I was like, 'You’re joking right?'" Vier said.
Now these neighbors are stuck with the headache of the aftermath.. wondering who will be responsible.
“It’s now the anxiety of having to deal with the insurance company company is and we just had to get a new car which is a hassle itself so we have to go through that whole process again now for both of our cars if you would body shop insurance and possibly damage to our house it’s a lot.”
Richmond Public Works officials said the property owners need to file a damage claim through the city attorney's office. They then will investigate who will be liable for the damage.
