What was supposed to be a relaxing holiday for an Atlanta woman turned into a nightmare after she received a worrying phone call from her next-door neighbor.
"Did you hire somebody to tear your house down next door to me?” her neighbor asked her. “I said 'no' and she said, 'well, there's someone over here who just demolished the whole house and tore the entire house down.’"
That’s how Sarah Hodgson discovered that her long-time family property had been mistakenly turned into a pile of rubble.
Image credits: FOX 5 Atlanta
Hodgson told Fox 5 Atlanta that when her neighbor confronted the workers about the mishap, they told her to “shut up and mind her own business.”
Then, the homeowner phoned a family member for help, who asked to see the worker’s permit upon arriving at the Lakewood Avenue property.
When the worker checked his permit, he realized the hauling and demolition company had torn down the house by accident.
"He said 'well, I want to see a permit or something,' and the guy pulled it out and said 'Oh, I'm at the wrong address' and he just packs everything up and leaves, and the house is just (destroyed) down and gone," Hodgson explained.
A neighbor had phoned Sarah to alert her of the situation
Image credits: FOX 5 Atlanta
The worker then proceeded to pack up their equipment and walk away from the property, leaving it in ruins.
After returning from her holiday, Hodgson was able to see with her own eyes that the “unforgivable accident” had turned her house into a mess.
"It's just a grumbled mess. The whole house is tumbled in and a big ol’ mess. He didn't haul nothing off," she described.
The property had been in her family for over four decades.
The demolition worker admitted that he was "at the wrong address" after tearing down the property
Image credits: FOX 5 Atlanta
She said she called the company responsible for the incident, You Call It, We Haul It, and received no answer. Not even an apology.
"It's just hard to believe someone thinks they have the right to just come and tear something up and walk away from it and not come back and say I'm sorry. What do I need to do to fix this? It was an accident. They didn't give me nothing," Hodgson said.
In addition to being deeply shaken by the incident, Hodgson has expressed her concerns about potential damage to gas or water lines at the residence due to the demolition.
The southwest Atlanta property had been boarded up for 15 years. The lawn was maintained, and all taxes were current.
"I'm furious. I keep waking up thinking, 'Is this a joke or something?' I'm just in shock," the woman said
Image credits: FOX 5 Atlanta
Hodgson and her family have taken legal action to resolve the matter. She said she has filed a police report and called attorneys.
"I think he owes us an apology, and he needs to fix the problem. He needs to fix the problem,” she said about the worker.
In a statement shared with Fox 5 Atlanta, You Call It, We Haul It said that the incident was “under investigation” and that they’re “working to rectify the situation.”
Meanwhile, Hodgson still hasn’t processed the disastrous fate of her family home.
In a statement shared with Fox 5 Atlanta, the company said that they're "working to rectify the situation"
Image credits: FOX 5 Atlanta
“I am furious,” she expressed. “I keep waking up thinking, ‘Is this all a joke or something?’ I’m just in shock.”
Hodgson's case comes after Everett Tripodis, also from Atlanta, said in March that the city sent warnings to the wrong address before tearing down his home on the historic West End.
“The demolition order itself gave the city and its contractor authority to demolish a home on a completely different street and a completely different zip code,” the man told Channel 2 News.
As a result of the mistake, his centuries-old property located in Lawton Street was turned into a pile of debris, "nothing but dirt."
“(We were) in the process of remodeling; they come with bulldozers and knock the entire house down,” Tripodis said. “It’s gut-wrenching. I don’t even like looking at it. This is prime real estate."
He didn't even receive compensation for the accident. The Atlanta City Council refused to pay out his claim for damages, stating that, “The council has determined that the city cannot accept responsibility for his matter and therefore cannot pay this claim.”
People slammed the demolition company and expressed their solidarity with the victim
