Hanahan home crushed by fallen tree during Helene’s strong winds

HANAHAN, S.C. (WCBD) – High winds associated with Helene caused a tree to fall on a Hanahan mobile home.

The home, located in the Bullwinkle Mobile Home Community off Old Point Road, not far from the Goose Creek Reservoir Dam, was essentially severed by the large tree when it fell early Friday morning.

Lee Hollins told News 2 he was sleeping in his bedroom and woke up from a large boom around 5:30 a.m. The tree tore through the kitchen just a few feet over from the bedroom.

Hollins, who has been staying at the home since his father’s passing, was able to get out safely through the front door.

“My dad passed away about three months ago and if he didn’t pass away he would’ve been sitting at the kitchen table by that time, drinking coffee. So I’m glad that it happened the way it did instead of like this,” Hollins said.

Strong winds and rain brought on by Hurricane Helene were to blame for the downed tree.

The storm made landfall in Florida late Thursday night as a category four, but its impacts stretched far beyond, causing wind damage and power outages in the Lowcountry.

“When he came up to get me so that I could go eat breakfast the
microwave had just cut out because he was cooking me pancakes and he just got finished and then as soon as he was walking upstairs it just cut ou t,” Caisa Lewis said when describing losing power while her dad cooked breakfast.

She and her dad, Jamie Lewis, were in the neighborhood scoping out the damage.

“Once the power went out, you know, my family originally owned this trailer park. So, I started walking around checking damage and found some. This is probably the worst thing I’ve seen yet in 60 years this park’s been around. He was pretty lucky. Pretty lucky,” Lewis shared.

Hollins agreed, saying the home has been in his family since 1986 and has taken on plenty of storms throughout the years including Hurricane Hugo.

Its sentimental value makes the loss even harder.

“So many weddings and deaths and people moving in and the family members and friends moving in and out of this place,” Hollins recalled. “…its all gone now.”

No injuries were reported. The fallen tree also damaged two vehicles.

Much of the Lowcountry was heavily impacted by strong winds, isolated tornadoes, and heavy rain that stemmed far from the center of Helene as the large storm moved inland after making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region late Thursday night.

Thousands of people across the tri-county woke up to no power, and debris in yards and on streets. Many roadways were also closed because of fallen trees.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2.