Meridian woman, daughter uninjured after tree crashes into house

Published 12:45 am Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Patti Coxwell was asleep at home in Meridian around 7:30 Saturday morning when she said she was jolted awake by what sounded like a loud clap of thunder.

“The house shook and I realized that the roof was laying in my bed,” she said. “I was looking up and I could see daylight and that’s all the time I had to worry about anything. I crawled out from under all of the debris and there was a tree through my house.”

One of the roofing boards, she said, was inches from her head. 

“I didn’t even hear the wind blow. I was sound asleep, so I didn’t even have time to be scared,” Coxwell said. 

She said her 21-year-old daughter, who was also home at the time, was not hurt. 

The fire department responded to the house on 27th Avenue and crews shut off the power and made sure everyone was safe, according to Meridian Public Safety Director Doug Stephens. 

Coxwell is a music teacher at West Lauderdale Middle School.

Despite the damage to her home, she made it out with only small scratches on her arm and face.

“It’s just amazing,” she said. “God had His hand right over top of my bed.”

Coxwell had the tree removed and a tarp placed over her house.

She was working to schedule repairs Monday. 

Odie Barrett, the interim director of the Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency, said the wind combined with the rain-soaked ground caused some trees to fall over Saturday morning.

In the Meehan community, a tree damaged a shed. 

One other tree was reported down in the city, according to Stephens. 

Widespread power outages began late Friday and continued Saturday, according to Julie Boles, the director of marketing and communication for the East Mississippi Electric Power Association. 

The outages – between 6,000 and 7,000 at one point – were spread across Winston, Kemper, Lauderdale and Clarke Counties, with the worst damage in Winston County, Boles said. 

“We had every one of our crews out throughout the weekend working around the clock,” she said. 

By Sunday evening, all power was restored, according to Boles.