MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — Three people died Monday in Montgomery County as Hurricane Beryl left a path of destruction through Southeast Texas.
According to County Judge Mark Keough's office, all three deaths happened within an hour around noon.
Around 11:50 a.m., a man in his 40s was on a tractor when a tree fell on him, crushing him to death. It happened on Pine Forest Drive, which is in a neighborhood just south of the Grand Parkway and east of US-69. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Around 12:30 p.m., two people who appeared to be homeless were found dead in a tent off FM 1774. A man and a woman were inside when a tree fell on them, killing both of them. Officials said they might have been a couple and their ages were unknown.
There were more deaths reported in Harris County due to the storm.
An HPD employee was killed while trying to get to work on Monday morning, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said. Information Security Officer Russell Richardson, 54, exited I-45 and ran into high water at the Houston Avenue underpass.
The man called his HPD friends for help, but when they got to him, it was too late.
Whitmire said he watched as the man's colleagues spent all afternoon recovering his body from his submerged car.
A 73-year-old woman also died when a tree fell into her home on Monday in north Harris County, according to the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office. It happened on Rustic Canyon Trail, which is in a neighborhood just north of FM 1960 and west of the North Freeway.
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Family told KHOU 11 News the woman, Maria Loredo, lived at the home with her son, his wife and two grandchildren, ages two and seven.
Everyone was inside the home when the tragedy occurred. Deputies said they were told the tree fell through the roof of Maria Loredo's room.
Authorities said at least two other people died in the storm.