LANSING, Mich. — The severe storm that rolled through mid-Michigan Thursday night has turned deadly. Lansing police say a person has died after a tree fell on their home on the city's southside.
Fire crews were called to the home on Martin Street near South Washington Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Authorities entered the home and removed the person. They were taken to Sparrow Hospital where they died.
The person's identity has not been released by officials, but I spoke with one family member who said his mother was the person who died.
Lost for words, Harvey Edwards would have never thought a tree falling on his 84-year-old mother’s home would be the cause of her death.
"I don’t even know what to say, I can’t even really think right now," Edwards said.
Authorities say they arrived to the home and found it destroyed by the tree. They pulled Harvey’s mom, Vernita Payne out, and she was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead. Edwards lived in the home with his mom and says it has been in the family for years.
"She just bought it and made out, out of a whole house, and she worked hard to keep it up. She been here since 1969," he said.
Along with Vernita in the house was Edwards' dog Cooper, a friend who’s helping him get through this tough time.
"He a little shook about this but he made it out," he said.
On Friday, the Lansing Fire Department and other agencies were assessing the damage, and while Harvey and his family tries to come to terms with this tragedy, they’re keeping memories of Vernita at the forefront.
"She was funny, she loved to party every now and then but she loved everyone," Edwards said.
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