GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A man was transported to the hospital after a tree fell through a Gaston County home and hit him in the head during Friday afternoon's storms.
The family spoke exclusively to Channel 9's Stephanie Tinoco and said they heard a loud boom when a tree fell. The grandfather was getting up from his recliner to see it when another tree uprooted and fell over the house, directly on him.
Granddaughter Lauren Miller said their grandfather was able to make it out alive.
"My grandfather was on his hands and knees on the floor and he managed to crawl around the maze, but he couldn't get up," Miller said. "The tree and the roof came down on him and he was trying to get up so he came down on this way and kind of like crunched him."
[ [PHOTOS: Damage from Friday's strong storms] ]
Miller said two other family members and her 8-year-old nephew were inside the house at the time, but no one else was injured.
"So thankful God was watching over them because it could have been bad, really bad," Miller said.
Miller said the couple has been living in the house for nearly 25 years.
"Keep everybody in your prayers," Miller said. "They're going to have to start over and they're elderly and that's not easy."
Tinoco learned the man was released from the hospital Saturday morning and is recovering at a family member's house.
Officials from the Red Cross said they will be helping the family get back on their feet.
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