PEVELY, Mo. — High winds moved in quickly Monday, darkening the skies so much, Brittany Santschi's son paused during his afternoon playtime to ask if it was his bedtime already.
Moments later, Santschi says she watched as the massive tree from her front yard passed in front of the living room window as it fell to the ground.
"I could not believe it. It did not seem like the wind picked up enough to do that," Santschi said. "To knock down the tree, you know... but to actually uproot... it was insane. I did not see that coming."
The towering tree bent back a rain gutter but narrowly missed her home and the gas meter.
"I think my husband said there were about 6 inches between the tree and the house," she said.
The mailbox was hoisted up and is still planted in the soil around the truck, though it is now erected parallel to the ground.
Just blocks from Santschi's home, a tree fell on Sunridge Trail Monday night, killing the woman who lived there.
"Crazy. Crazy," neighbor David Bewig said of the storm. "And then to find out that someone you know was injured by that and lost their life over it."
Bewig was recording the effects of last night's winds from his backyard when he heard the first tree fall, the first of what he calls two "big booms."
Bewig says the woman -- who has not been publicly identified by police -- was a mother and a long-time resident.
Other neighbors told 5 On Your Side she was well-known and well-liked in the community.
"She was real sweet person. I saw her all the time driving up and down the street, and it's just a shame with what happened and what took place," Bewig said.
As the neighborhood cleans up with the sound of chainsaws breaking up tree branches and trunks, Brittany Santschi knows they were just inches from her worst fears.
"I hated this tree. I always worried when it stormed because I was so sure it was going to fall on the house. I hated it. I'm so glad it's gone," she said.