SHAWNEE, Kan. — People across the Kansas City area were left to clean up Friday after a brief but intense storm rolled through.
Jessica Grimsley, who lives at the Cottonwood Park Apartments in Shawnee, Kansas, woke up to find a large tree limb on her van, which came down during the storm and damaged the vehicle's hood and windows.
“The window over here, it got busted out," Grimsley said. "That’s most of the main damage, and then on the roof. I guess the tree limb was so bulky, our ceiling is caving in a little bit."
Grimsley has four children and her van is the only vehicle she owns that can fit them all.
“When my mom first told me inside, I was crying," her oldest daughter, Olivia Price, said. "I was like, 'No, now we can’t go anywhere.'"
Across Johnson County, Kansas, many more people were dealing with similar issues.
Tim Gift said he woke up to someone knocking on his home's front door to tell him that his car was crushed by a tree.
Working overnight shifts, Gift said he did not hear the tree crash into his vehicle.
The next step for Gift and Grimsley is to contact their insurance companies and start the claims process.
“I’m just still kind of trying to piece all of it together," Gift said. "Right now, I’m just sort of plugging through the steps and doing what I can and then I’ll worry about how to deal with the emotion afterwards."
Despite hundreds or thousands of dollars of damage, Grimsley said her van remains driveable, but she doesn't believe it would safe for her children.
