MISSOULA — A movie night quickly turned into a disaster for the Duval family in East Missoula.
During the July 24 storm that devastated Missoula and surrounding areas, a tree was uprooted, but it didn't land on the ground.
"The tree here was laying on top of my wife’s Chrysler and my suburban and completely destroyed. So even if we wanted to go somewhere we can't go anywhere...we tried calling 911 a couple times, but the lines were so busy. Most of Missoula was just being attacked by a windstorm,” said David Duval who is the owner of the damaged car.
David has a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that can send David into cardiac arrest if he gets too stressed. He's currently on the transplant list. Without a car, has made going to doctors' appointments difficult.
The possibility of being stuck turned a scary situation into a potentially dangerous one.
“It’s all I could think...how we would be trapped here if anything did happen with my heart or if another one of the big trees fell that was another concern of ours. Knowing that we didn't have any escape or just being trapped in the trailer if a tree was to fall right on top of us was nuts,” David said.
During the storm, the family was at the trailer and Jessica Duval, who drove the car that was totaled, said that not only was the vehicle a concern but so were the other trees that could have come down onto their trailer.
“It was all so nerve-racking when it was happening... when we came out it was only five feet away from smashing into our kitchen,” Jessica said.
While the cleanup of their property is still underway, the family is having to face the reality of the cost of getting a new car and a car fixed.
The family has started a GoFundMe to help with the cost of repairing the Surburban and replacing the totaled car.
