HOUSTON – A couple is at a loss after a truck came pummeling into their homes.
Months later, they said no one has been held accountable and they’re being forced to sell their beloved home.
“You have a home one moment and the next moment you don’t,” homeowner Travis Lewis said.
He’s had his home on Cochran Street in north Houston, which was passed down to him, for the past 25 years. However, on February 5, 2022 his life changed forever.
“It was 3 a.m. on Feb 5th,” said Nathena Lewis, Travis’ wife. “I was in the bathroom and I heard a ‘boom,’ heard another ‘boom,’ and then the house shook.”
A Ford F150 pickup truck rammed through the home, which Houston police later said caused the home to fill up with carbon monoxide.
“It was a big 4x4 pickup truck,” Travis said.
The truck hit their son’s bed frame, injuring their son’s head. Since the accident, the family said their son, who has autism, has been afraid of coming to the home because of what happened.
Meanwhile, the family said that they could not afford home insurance.
Nathena previously had to leave her job due to health reasons, so Travis is the only one who works.
The family is now struggling to be made whole after the accident due to a lack of accountability, they said.
“[HPD told us] the plates on it were fake, they were expired, the vehicle had multiple names and was sold many times and never changed over,” Nathena said.
Still today, the home is boarded up.
“This is the front steps, rubble and with no wall,” Travis said.
The whole front of the home is boarded up. The Lewis’ lawyers said the home is a total loss and would cost $200,000-$250,000 to rebuild.
“We can’t find out who it is or who did it. We can’t find out anything about them because the paper plates are allowing them to get away with it,” Nathena said.
They said they can’t afford repairs so they will have to sell the property.
“We were paying our property taxes. Everything that we were doing was legal and this happens to us and the person that actually did it has nothing on them,” Nathena said.