Hurricane Nicholas topples tree onto Houston mom’s car after she walks away: ‘Completely destroyed’

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Nearly a year after using unemployment money to buy a car, and get a new job, a Houston mom is now out of a ride after a tree was knocked over as Hurricane Nicholas rolled through.

Whether you take a look from above, or below, it doesn’t get any easier for Houston mom, Jaii Humbert.

“Anything could’ve happened,” Humbert said. “You know what I mean? That’s the scariest part.”

Monday night, Humbert parked her car at her southwest Houston apartment. Seconds after walking away she heard a loud boom.

“Completely destroyed,” Humbert said. “I mean, the tree is wedged into the car somehow, and caving in to the sunroof.”

The tree crashed into two vehicles, but no one was hurt. The complex wasn’t the only place where storm damage was found, winds also knocked over trees and took out power lines in a north Houston neighborhood. Near the Eastex Freeway, trees toppled fences, causing streets to be shut down. Near Spring, a tree fell onto a home, causing the garage and dining room ceilings to buckle.

But for Humbert, this incident stung.

“I was just driving to work yesterday and thinking, ‘Oh my God, it’ll be a year in Thanksgiving since I’ve had it,'” Humbert recalled.

Like millions of others, Humbert lost her job in 2020. But she managed to save up her unemployment money to buy her car. Now, she’s back at work but worries about how much longer she’ll be there. With her car smashed by the tree, Humbert said she isn’t sure she can afford another. She has set up a GoFundMe for help, because she doesn’t know where else to turn.

“It sucks when you work for something, and then it gets taken by something you didn’t have any control over,” Humbert explained.

This is why, no matter which angle you look, the destruction doesn’t get easier for Humbert to digest.