Man, 2 dogs escape after tree limb crushes Mount Holly home

MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. — A man and his two dogs escaped after a large tree limb smashed on top of a home in Mount Holly Monday evening.

The limb blocked the front door when it fell on the roof of the Park Avenue home just before 6 p.m.

Mark Jones, the home renter, and his two pit bulls were able to escape safely through the back door.

"The wind came up and next thing I knew the limb went through my house, through the living room. Barely made it out," said Jones.

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A neighbor was outside when the limb fell and said there was no lightning or rain, just strong winds.

The ceiling now hangs about waist high from the floor.

“Ceiling coming down,” Jones said. “Walls busting out. Just a blink of an eye it was one me."

Channel 9's Ken Lemon spoke with Jones, who said it sounded "like an airplane was coming through the house."

Jones said the limb that crashed on his house fell from a 125-foot tree. He estimates the tree was more than 100 years old.

He said the tree was rotting in the middle, and he's concerned about others along the street.

The ordeal gave him a new respect for bad weather.

Jones lived in the home with his girlfriend, who was at work at the time of the incident.

The tree is also affecting other people because the fallen limbs are blocking traffic on Lane Street. The limbs are stretching all the way from one side of the house to the road, causing people to have to drive around the tree.

Cox Media Group