Teen dies when tree falls on house in Etowah

ETOWAH, Tenn. — Shirley Goodman was listening to books on tape early Monday morning when heavy winds battered the area. With her headphones on, Ms. Goodman had no idea what happened until she heard sirens.

“We saw our neighbor first, and she just knew that her son was still in there,” she said.

The son, 18-year-old Michael Aaron Byers Jr., was killed when a massive oak tree fell on the south end of the family’s house on County Road 807 about 6 a.m., McMinn County Sheriff Steve Frisbie said.

Mr. Byers was pronounced dead at the scene after rescue personnel reached his bedroom on the south end of the house, Sheriff Frisbie said.

“He was asleep, didn’t know what hit him,” he said.

Mr. Byers’ parents, Michael and Kelly Byers, were not injured in their bedroom on the other end of the house, he said.

“It was a tragedy, just a tragedy,” the sheriff said. “I understand next month he would’ve had his 19th birthday.”

The teenager was “a good kid,” Ms. Goodman said.

“He was always out in the neighborhood,” she said. “He mowed the neighbors’ yards.”

The blast that passed through the area just before dawn Monday downed trees and power lines across the region. Wind gusts up to 52 mph were recorded in the Etowah area, according to NewsChannel 9 meteorologist David Glen.

National Weather Service meteorologist David Hotz said a low pressure system spinning up winds out of the Gulf of Mexico created the winds that struck Southeast Tennessee.

The clouds will remain for a while today but no high winds are expected, Mr. Hotz said.

Meanwhile, utilities reported scattered to widespread outages across the region.

Officials at Volunteer Electric Cooperative said Monday’s wind left 4,000 to 5,000 homes without power in its Southeast Tennessee service area, while Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative officials said outages were few and scattered in the Sequatchie Valley.

Cleveland, Tenn., utility officials said about 1,100 customers lost power as the winds passed. Power was restored within hours, officials said.

In the wake of Friday’s EF-2 tornado, Sequatchie County Director of Schools Johnny Cordell said the storm tore off an awning at the back of the high school and blew it across the roof, poking holes in the building.

“We patched it,” Mr. Cordell said. “We will have to replace the roof because the patch won’t hold up very long.”

Damage estimates are between $50,000 and $75,000, he said.

In McMinn County, Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Tim Carver said Monday’s winds also blew a tree onto a County Road 475 home, damaging the house and crushing three parked vehicles.

“People were home, but no one was hurt,” Sgt. Carver said.

The same was true at another house in the same area where winds damaged the roof, he said.

Staff Writer Chloé Morrison contributed to this story.