Teenage Sisters Watching Tv when a Tree Crashes Through Their Home

**kellyhound** · #1 ● 10-26-2019, 07:47 AM

LUSBY, MD. Imagine lounging in the living room, snuggled up in a blanket, relaxing while watching TV. Suddenly, a deafening and frightening crashing sound blasts from up above. Whole chunks of the ceiling smash to the ground. And a giant tree gouges into your home.

That's exactly what happened to teenage sisters Mariah and Ashley Stone of Maryland, who are alive today only because of a refrigerator.

The girls were hanging out after school Oct. 17, waiting for their parents, Jennifer and Francis Stone, to come home after work. They were watching TV in the living room with the family's dog. Then, without any warning, their living room and kitchen area collapsed in on them. It was a miracle that the huge tree uprooted from the backyard did not land directly on them. The girls suffered only minor injuries. Their home, however, has been badly damaged.

"It sounded like an earthquake," 15-year-old Ashley said. "It's definitely a sound that I think for both of us, we'll never forget. Everything fell on top of us, between the tree and insulation and the ceiling."

The entire shocking incident was captured on video recorded by the family's Ring security camera. It shows the jaw-dropping moment the tree rips through the roof into the Lusby home and how the girls managed to shove drywall and pieces of the roof off themselves and escape the area. You can hear them frantically screaming.

One of the sisters called their parents and you can hear her shouting into the phone, "A tree just fell on the house!"

"I've never experienced anything like this," their dad, Francis Stone, told ABC News. "I don't wish this on nobody, just the mental part of it all — it's very draining and I'm at a loss."

Stone was at work and tapped into the Ring camera's virtual footage and saw just how bad the situation really was. He and his wife, Jennifer, realized how catastrophic it could have been once they laid eyes on the damage.

"I opened the door, that was what broke me down," he said. "It was pretty bad because I realize how lucky my daughters were."

After combing through the damage, the Stones discovered their refrigerator broke the tree's fall. The kitchen is attached to the living room where the girls were at. The situation could have turned out much, much worse, the family realized.

"That refrigerator saved our lives," said Mariah, 14.

Francis and Jennifer commended their daughters for taking care of each other and the family dog when faced with such a frightening emergency.

"After everything and seeing everything, the girls did a great job, they looked out for each other," Francis Stone said.

Because the damage is extensive, the Stones are now living in a hotel. A GoFundMe page has been established to help the family with expenses.

"Just want to send a huge thank you out to everyone who has donated to help us. We can't express how much it is appreciated. We are still waiting on the insurance adjusters, and the go-ahead on getting into a temporary rental place while our home is being repaired.

Hopefully it will be soon, because this little hotel room isn't anything close to comfortable. You all are blessings and we thank you sincerely," Jennifer Stone posted on the GoFundMe page.