Elderly widow in Hart Co. still displaced weeks after windstorm

Sandra Miller and her son were inside their trailer when trees started falling around them, crushing the structure.
Published: Mar. 29, 2023 at 4:43 PM CDT
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

CANMER, Ky. (WBKO) - An 81-year-old woman in Hart County is still displaced after her trailer was destroyed during the March 3 windstorm.

From the city of Louisville to the country woods of Canmer, Sandra Miller has called her this home for the place 23 years.

“It’s just been perfect down here,” she said.

During the windstorm, Miller and her son were inside the trailer when they started to get worried about the noises and wind outside.

“It just started blowing and kept getting harder and harder,” said Miller.

Soon after the wind picked up, trees started falling around them, crushing the structure.

“One came through the living room. We started running and the ceiling was coming down and trees were just falling like dominos-- boom, boom, boom. The bedroom was crushed,” explained Miller.

The two sought safety in a nearby field where they tried to call 9-1-1 but couldn’t get service, so they waited for a family member to drive down from Louisville to rescue them.

“You couldn’t stand up. We just lay down. And it was wet and muddy. And I just got out of the hospital two weeks earlier with double pneumonia,” said Miller.

Nearly a month later, Miller comes back to her home to check on the animals who all survived but one chicken. She reflects on that horrifying day but is thankful to be here to tell about it.

“It was a miracle, nobody should have got out of that place. I don’t know how we’ll get another trailer but we survived it for a reason,” she said.

While the future for Miller remains unclear, there’s one thing she’s sure of. One day, she’ll be able to call this place home again; after all, it’s a place where she’s planted her new roots more than two decades ago, in more ways than one.

“I’m 82 years old. I ain’t gonna last much longer... and my husband’s ashes are in the backyard, so I just want to stay here,” she said.

Miller is now staying at a shelter in Edmonton thanks to Hart County Emergency Management. She’s staying there until she figures out how to get a new trailer. If you’d like to donate to help Miller, there is a GoFundMe page set up here. Limestone Bank in Munfordville and WLOC in Horse Cave will take donations for deposit in Sandra Miller’s account.