Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, August 8,2018
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 7A
Siblings describe terror of deck collapse
By Layne Sabila
DCN regional staff
On Sunday, July 15,
things were normal as
ever for the Hanna fami
ly. Everyone but father
Jeffrey Hanna was home.
Bethany Hanna, the
daughter, found a bubble
machine and knew Lady,
the family dog, would
love it.
So Bethany, 21, her
brother, Matt, 25, and
their mother, Renee,
went out to the porch to
keep the mess outside of
their Flowery Branch
home.
Everything changed in
an instant when they
called for Lady. As the
dog started up the stairs
to the porch, Bethany
could see on Lady’s face
something wasn’t right.
She didn’t have enough
time to think about what
it might be before the
deck gave out and she,
her brother and their
hound mix fell 25 feet to
the ground.
“I started to stand up,
wondering why she was
so scared,” said Bethany,
a sophomore at the
University of North
Georgia. “But I never got
to finish that sentence,
because the deck fell. We
weren’t jumping. We
weren’t doing anything. I
was just crouching there,
and as I was standing
back up the whole world
just dropped.”
The porch completely
detached from the side of
the home, flipping
upside down as it fell.
“I just kept thinking,
‘I’m about to die, this is
it,”’ Bethany said.
Both survived despite
serious injuries, and are
receiving help to fund
their expenses. They also
offer important safety
warnings for homeown
ers.
But in the moment the
deck gave way, nothing
was certain.
“My feet all the sud
den started leaving the
deck and it’s like it was
all a blur,” Matt said.
Renee was standing in
the sliding-glass door
way with one foot inside
when it fell. Her back
was turned so she didn’t
see the deck collapse.
She was standing in the
doorway and had to pull
herself into the house
before she fell.
She had her phone in
her right hand, clinging
to the floor. She used her
left hand to grab the bak
er’s rack near the door.
As she straddled the
doorway, she pulled her
self to safety.
“I saw my hand sliding
and I knew. It was like I
was fighting for my life,
because it felt like I was
Photos by Scott Rogers DCN regional staff
Renee Hanna's deck lies upside down 25 feet below where it once stood at
her Flowery Branch home Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Barely escaping the fall
herself, the crash July 15 seriously injured her son and daughter, both of
whom are still recovering.
I f 1
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The Hanna family is on the mend following a deck collapse at their Flowery
Branch home seriously injuring Bethany and Matt Hanna. Mom Renee, left,
barely escaped the 25-foot collapse.The family dog Lady was also injured in
the fall and required treatment.
falling off the edge of the
earth,” said Renee, who’s
been a theater teacher for
16 years. “I didn’t know
how I was going to hold
on and suddenly, it was
like this giant roar came
up behind me, and all of
the sounds of what was
happening behind me
were drowned out.”
In shock, she ran to the
lower deck of the house
to check on her children.
Bethany was con
scious, though she said
she thinks she blacked
out for a moment. Some
of her first thoughts went
to a popular TV medical
drama, “Grey’s
Anatomy.” She made
sure she could wiggle
her fingers and toes. She
could.
She heard Matt groan
ing as he lay nearby. She
told him he had to wig
gle his fingers and toes.
“I was just perplexed
by what just happened,”
said Matt, who works at
Kroger. “The reason I
was groaning was I was
trying to figure out if it
was a dream or not.”
He’s on the autism
spectrum, and Bethany
has always played the
older sister role. She
kept yelling for him to
wiggle his fingers and
toes. He could.
Bethany was relieved
to find though he was
covered in what looked
like blood, she soon real
ized it was red paint
from a can that had been
on the porch.
When Renee made it
around the house, she
couldn’t dial any phone
numbers. She screamed
for help. A neighbor
heard and ran to the
house to offer assistance.
She finally dialed 911
and an ambulance
arrived take Bethany and
Matt to Northeast
Georgia Medical Center.
Lady was next on the
list of family to check.
She was nowhere to be
found until Renee heard
her whimpering in what
she said was “the worst
cry I’ve ever heard in my
life from a dog.”
Renee said a lot of
things could have gone
the wrong way. That her
children survived was a
miracle itself.
Some 15 years ago,
she had planted confed
erate jasmine, a vine that
climbs whatever it’s
near, and it grew up three
black metal poles sup
porting the porch. It
began to overtake the
porch and grow into the
wicker furniture, so
Renee had planned to cut
it the day before. She got
distracted with work and
never got around to it.
“We believe that that
vine for 15 years had
grown so strong and had
wrapped its way into that
deck so much that when
it fell, it held onto that
side of the deck and pre
vented it from crashing
down onto our heads,”
Bethany said.
The deck landed
upside down and created
a sort of tent over Matt
and Bethany. It never fell
on top of them. In part,
they have that confeder
ate jasmine, which
helped slow the deck’s
fall, to thank.
Or God. Renee quoted
part of the Bible verse
John 15:15: “I am the
vine; you are the branch
es.”
“I believe God did it,”
she said.
When they got to the
hospital, Matt was
rushed to the trauma cen
ter with a stage 4 liver
laceration. Doctors want
ed to make sure he didn’t
have internal bleeding.
He did have a broken left
wrist, lung contusion,
transverse process frac
ture and concussion.
Bethany was taken to
the emergency room with
a broken pubic bone,
fractured pelvis and bro
ken wrist. She’s had
trouble walking since the
fall, but is making prog
ress. She uses a platform
walker, which is used
while standing straight
up and has arm supports
and hand grips to keep
the weight off the feet or
legs.
Matt is at home now
with his mother. He has a
brace on his left wrist,
his liver is healing and
his bruising has healed
since the fall.
Bethany is staying at a
family friend’s home
because the family home
is split-level. The only
way inside is up a flight
of stairs at the front door.
While she recovers,
Renee and Jeffrey are
figuring out a plan to
help get her home.
Renee said friends and
family have been bring
ing food nonstop. On
July 16, a friend created
a GoFundMe page to
raise money to provide
for the family’s needs. In
the three weeks it’s been
active, it has raised more
than $7,000.
“It was just the sweet
est thing,” Bethany said.
“It was something none
of us had even thought
about. We hadn’t thought
about hospital bills or
lost wages. We hadn’t
thought about any of that
stuff. ... It was an amaz
ing surprise and bless
ing.”
The Hannas want
people to know they
should have their
home’s deck checked by
a professional. The
code only required nails
27 years ago when the
their home was built.
That has since changed,
with screws or bolts
now required. The wood
had also rotted because
of a lack of flashing,
which creates a barrier
to stop moisture from
getting to the house
where it is attached to
the deck.
“I want people to know
that if your deck is old or
you’re concerned, please
have someone come
check it out because you
never know,” Bethany
said. “I mean, there were
no warning signs. There
was no uneasy creaking.
It was just there, and
then it was gone.”
Anderson
Family Medicine
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
The Dawson County Board of Commissioners has tentatively
adopted a millage rate which will require an increase in property
taxes by 10.08 percent.
All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax
increase to be held in the Commissioners Meeting Room at the
Dawson County Courthouse/Administration Building located at 25
Justice Way, Dawsonville, Georgia on August 2,2018 at 6:00 pm.
Times and places of additional public hearings on this tax increase
will be held in the Commissioners Meeting Room at the Dawson
County Courthouse/Administration Building located at 25 Justice Way,
Dawsonville, Georgia on August 9. 2018 at 4:00 pm, and August
16.2018 at 6:00 pm.
The tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 8.138 mills, an
increase of0.745 mills. Without this tentative tax increase, the millage
rate will be no more than 7.393 mills. The proposed tax increase
for a home with a fair market value of $250,000 is approximately
$74.50 and the proposed tax increase for non-homestead property
with a fair market value of $200,000 is approximately $59.60.
Dr. Larry Anderson has been proudly serving the Dawsonville
Community as your neighborhood doctor. Offering same-
day appointments at a convenient location on the Northside
Dawson Medical Campus, our friendly, experienced staff
provides excellent medical care for adult patients.
We accept most insurance plans, including:
• Aetna
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Cigna
• Coventry
• Humana
• Medicare
Call (706) 265-1335 to schedule an appointment today.
81 Northside Dawson Drive, Suite 205,
Dawsonville, GA 30534
andersonfamilymedicine.com
www.dawsonnews.com
Northside Hospital