Florida home on top of sinkhole is demolished
SEFFNER, Fla. — Crews on Sunday razed more than half of the Tampa-area home perched over a huge sinkhole that swallowed a man three days ago, managing to salvage some keepsakes for family members who lived there.
Jeremy Bush, 35, tried to save his brother, Jeff, when the earth opened up and swallowed him Thursday night. On Sunday morning, Bush and relatives prayed with a pastor as the home — where he lived with his girlfriend, Rachel Wicker; their daughter, Hannah, 2; and others — was demolished and waited for firefighters to salvage anything possible from inside.
Early Sunday morning, just before the demolition began, Bush and an unidentified woman knelt and prayed at the mailbox in front of the home, owned by Leland Wicker, Rachel’s grandfather, since the 1970s.
After praying, Bush and the woman walked across the street to a neighbor’s lawn to watch the demolition. The search for Jeff Bush, 37, was called off Saturday.
The operator of the heavy equipment worked gingerly, first taking off a front wall. Family belongings were scooped onto the lawn gently in hopes of salvaging parts of the family’s 40-year history in the home.
As of Sunday afternoon — when demolition had stopped for the day and only a few walls of the home remained — a Bible, family photos, a jewelry box and a pink teddy bear for Hannah were among the items saved. Firefighters were also able to pick out the purse of one of the women in the home.
Cheers went up from family, friends and neighbors each time something valuable was salvaged.
Wanda Carter, the daughter of Leland Wicker, cradled the large family Bible in her arms. She said her mother and father had stored baptism certificates, cards and photos between the pages.
Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill said the remaining walls of the home would be knocked down today, then crews would turn to clearing the debris as much as possible to allow officials and engineers to see the sinkhole in the open. Officials will also determine what will happen to the two homes on either side of the now-demolished house; experts say the sinkhole has “compromised” those homes, but it’s unclear whether steps can be taken to save them.
Several generations of family members lived in the home at the time of the ground collapse, including Jeff Bush, the man now presumed dead.
Jeremy Bush tried to save his brother by jumping into the sinking dirt hole. He had to be pulled out of the still-shifting hole by a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputy.