How lightning split a tree in half, damaged family’s trailer in Prospect
Christina Leeson of Prospect got a firsthand look at Mother Nature’s fury when she and her family returned home from dinner to find that a tree had fallen on top of their trailer. The tree collapsed when it was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm on Saturday, Aug. 22.
“When we got home... it was just total destruction,” Leeson said.
Leeson lives in the Coral Ridge Estates trailer park along with her husband John, and 4-year-old son Landyn. At the time the tree fell, none of them were in the trailer.
“We were out to dinner and our neighbor had called us,” Leeson said. “My husband received a phone call from our neighbor that lightning hit the tree behind our house and it landed on the trailer.”
According to Leeson, the trailer sustained enough damage that the family is seeking a new place to live.
“We have a blown-out window in our bathroom,” Leeson said. “There was glass everywhere from the window, and it blew our medicine cabinet out of our wall.”
Additionally, a fire extinguisher next to the front door was found in the kitchen. They assume it was a result of the impact.
Initially, Leeson thought the damage may be manageable, but by end of day Sunday, she’d realized a need to start looking for another permanent residence because of damage to the roof.
Further, Leeson was shocked what the lightning did to the tree itself. She testified that pieces of “shrapnel” blew clear across the trailer park.
“The tree...literally blew apart,” Leeson said. “There was a piece of shrapnel that was impaled in the ground on the next road over from us. There’s pieces of wood everywhere.
“Our neighbor two doors down from us was eating dinner, and they saw wood flying past their door, so I can’t imagine what the impact was like.”
A friend of the family has set up a GoFundMe to help them offset the costs of the move and repairs to the trailer, as — according to the text of the fundraiser — the Leesons did not have insurance coverage for the trailer. The fundraiser is asking for $9,000.
This article was updated Aug. 23, 2026, to add new developments to the story, including that the family was looking for a new permanent residence.
