Woman injured when tree falls on house

Published 9:54 am Thursday, June 15, 2017

A Warren County woman was injured when a falling tree crashed through her roof and into her bedroom, trapping her in bed, Sheriff Martin Pace said.

Gloria Holsomback, 72, was taken by ambulance to South Park Elementary School, where she was transferred to a helicopter and flown to University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she was in fair condition. She was alone in the house when the tree fell.

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“She was laying in a bedroom in the rear of the house, and the tree and all that debris came down on her, pinning her in the bed,” Pace said, adding the tree measured about 2 feet in diameter.

The incident occurred about 11:11 a.m. Wednesday. Sheriff’s deputy Ford Emery and Fisher Ferry and Culkin firefighters arrived at Holsomback’s home to find her trapped under the tree and parts of the ceiling and roof.

Warren County fire coordinator Jerry Briggs said the firefighters were on Halls Ferry Road and had finished extinguishing hot spots at a house that burned earlier Wednesday morning when they got the call.

“They had to cut the tree with a chainsaw,” Briggs said, “And they had to remove the tree and parts of the ceiling and the roof that fell in on top of her. It took them about 20 minutes to cut that tree and free her. That was a very large tree.”

He said Emery and the firefighters stayed with Holsomback until an ambulance and medics arrive.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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