INDIANAPOLIS — After the storm once known as Hurricane Helene ripped through Central Indiana, Bruce Gootee no longer had a roof over his head.
A tree toppled onto Gootee's home near the intersection of East 25th Street and Webster Avenue on Sept. 27. The roof remains damaged two weeks later.
"The whole house shook, it was like an explosion," Gootee said. "I grew up in here. Dad started coming down with Alzheimer's and my mom developed breast cancer, so I moved back."
Gootee said the tree is still on the roof because he does not have the money to fix it. He is an Indiana Air National Guard veteran on fixed disability income, which he said is also why he could not afford insurance on the home.
"I'm just trying to survive," Gootee said. "I'd hate to have to start over, to be honest with you, but it's getting to the point where that may be my only choice."
Gootee's neighbor Leland Hennings worries more trees could fall in the neighborhood during future storms because many residents do not have the money to maintain their trees.
"We've had several trees fall, you can see the stumps," Hennings said. "They don't have time for crucial repairs, they don't have the resources. It's a real problem."
The tree that fell on Gootee's home fell from his neighbor's yard, and a court case from 1933 set the precedent that the property where the tree's trunk lies is responsible for damages. However, Gootee said his neighbor would not be able to pay for the repair.
"He called me and told me his insurance company denied the claim," Gootee said.
Gootee is not sure how he will pay for repairs but said he is committed to doing so.
"I don't have anywhere else to go, to be honest with you," Gootee said.
