NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) -
A Nacogdoches woman said after weeks of complaining to management, her leaky ceiling finally caved in and injured her teenaged son in the process.
LaQuinta Black, who lives at Oak Hill Plaza, located at 405 Oak Hill Plaza Drive, said she was cooking dinner for her two children when her son, Quidarius, 14, walked across the living room and a piece of the ceiling fell on him.
"When my son came through I mean everything just kinda pretty much shattered inside and he was like in the center of the floor, plate still and food sitting there," Black said.
"Some sheetrock fell on me and my daughter too, so I called 911," Black said.
Black said all three checked in and out of the hospital, but Quidarius did suffer a minor head injury.
Black explained that her leaky ceiling had given her a lot of problems when it rains and she has been trying to get management to fix the problem.
"It's not just a leak," Black said. "It pours into my room and I have to keep a tub to catch the water."
Oak Hill Plaza management was not immediately available for comment.
Black says she's complained for months to Oak Hill Plaza management about the cracking ceiling.
"Been taking pictures for, seem like, if it get worse I would take more pictures," Black said.
No repairs ever happened. Last week the unit finally got a new roof, but leaks had already caused considerable damage.
A board was placed over a hole in a neighbor's bathroom ceiling.
Black doesn't want a patch job.
"I wouldn't let them come put no boards over my head because the boards could have fell," Black said.
The morning after last night's accident management sends out this letter informing residents that they'll be doing the periodic unit inspections.
Would the inspection letters have gone out anyway or was it expidited due to last night's close call? Stan Sisco, the chair of the non-profit trust that owns the over 50-year-old HUD housing complex doesn't know. He wasn't told of last night's ceiling cave in either.
Meanwhile, Black is refusing to pay rent until proper repairs are completed.
"Why do I need to pay rent here and I'm not even comfortable?" she said. "Me and my kids can't be comfortable or we're not even safe here."
Copyright 2012 KTRE. All rights reserved.
