‘We heard a loud crash’: Tree crashes through roof above sleeping boy amid Tropical Storm Eta

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A 6-year-old Marion County boy got a startling wake up call Thursday morning.

It wasn’t when a tree came crashing through the roof of his home right onto where he was sleeping, but when his parents woke him up to make sure he was OK.

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Jeremy Difiore, of Belleview, said his son was sleeping in his parents’ room because he was scared of the winds and heavy rain from Tropical Storm Eta when the tree came crashing through the roof.

“We heard a loud crash,” Difiore said. “It sounded like someone dropped a truck (on) the house.”

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He said his son slept through the sound and woke up covered in drywall and insulation and startled by his parents making sure he was OK at about 2:30 a.m.

Difiore said no one was injured.

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He said neighbors also rushed over to the home to help the family move items out of the room while rain continued to fall.

“They’re good people,” Difiore said.

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Tropical Storm Eta dumps blustery rain on west Florida, makes landfall near Cedar Key Water splashes against the seawall along Pass A Grille Way in St. Pete Beach, Fla., on Wednesday, Nov 11, 2020, as squalls from Tropical Storm Eta move through Pinellas County. (Scott Keeler/Tampa Bay Times via AP)