Woman recounts tree crashing on Maui home with daughter inside

MAKAWAO, MAUI (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Maui mother says it's a miracle her daughter is alive after strong winds from Hurricane Lane last week caused a massive eucalyptus tree to come crashing down on her home as she was sleeping.

"I was absolutely panicked. I told her I was going to get into my car and head up there and she was telling me, 'No! No! No!' Because it was still storming so bad. But a mother's first instinct is to go get your baby," said Valerie Covert.

Covert said her 26-year-old daughter Jessica called her at 5 a.m. Friday morning saying a giant tree crushed her tiny home in Piiholo while she was inside.

"I could not believe the devastation I saw. Her entire house had just splintered and was flattened," she said.

It was the same day massive wildfires broke out in West Maui and claimed nearly two dozen homes, prompting more than 100 evacuations.

Fire officials say wind gusts in some areas were whipping up to 70 mph from the hurricane.

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"The tree landed right on the corner of her house, right on top of her bed," Covert said. "She said she tried to call 911 and they told her all the first responders were in Lahaina were dealing with the fire."

So Covert said her daughter followed the sounds of her neighbors' voices, crawled across her home in the pitch black and through her kitchen window just to get out.

"She sustained some bruising, she has some scratches to her face, she has a black eye, some scratching on her back, her knees got scraped up, and when I got to her later that afternoon, she was still pretty traumatized," she said.

Covert said her daughter works two jobs just to get by. She didn't have renter's insurance and only basic car insurance.

"I am really, really thankful that she's alive. That's my first and foremost thing. But I am terrified for her too and what this is going to do to her long term. As the days go by and she realizes the more things that she's lost," said Covert.

"Her father passed away about 15 years ago and she had some of his items that are irreplaceable, and she's lost those. So that hits us both pretty hard."

For now, Jessica is staying with friends but doesn't have a permanent solution.

Her mother said she also is seeing a doctor regularly for her headaches.

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