HOUSTON — Debris from Hurricane Beryl lined the street Tuesday outside a 1960s-era condo complex off Bissonnet where power was knocked out more than a week earlier.
"It's dangerous, needless to say," resident Chesley Krohn said.
As KHOU 11 reporter Jason Miles interviewed Krohn just before noon, the Houston Fire Department showed up along with an EMS crew.
They rushed to an upstairs unit where saving a life was no longer an option.
"She's dead," one neighbor said.
"Oh my, God," another said.
We're told the woman was not that old but did have health issues. She was riding out the power outage in the sweltering heat.
"She's renting from my daughter, so I came to check on her and she didn't answer," neighbor Pat Baker said. "So, therefore, I unlocked the door and found her. You know, it's just been hot and miserable and I'm just sick of this you know? I'm just sick of it!"
Emotional neighbors wish they could have done more and were hopeful their story has an impact.
"It makes me sad," neighbor David Duffield said. "I mean, it makes me sad she was up here in the heat like that."
CenterPoint contractors showed up at least twice in as many days. Crews arrived Tuesday afternoon after repeated calls by neighbors and an email from KHOU 11 News.
The property manager reported to us late in the afternoon that the power was finally back on. But it was only after a very trying day.
CenterPoint said the repair included what's known as a "pad-mount" transformer.