HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- It was an unusual afternoon on Sandowne Lane.
"It was a torrential downpour, almost looked like flash flood here," said Ben Knight, a resident of the neighborhood just outside of Birkdale Village.
The winds were howling, too.
Resident Mike Roache said, "It was very scary, couldn't see across the street. Large garbage cans -- very heavy -- were flying through the air 6 feet up, right down the street."
But he did spot something in the middle of the craziness -- the mailman.
"He got out of the truck, had box in his hand," said Roache. "He took two steps and the tree just came right down. I couldn't even open the front door to my house it was so strong, to run out and help this guy."
Just down the street some guys working in their garage heard the mailman's cries for help.
"We could see his head, an arm and a leg," said Knight. "But he was completely under the tree."
Roache still couldn't get his front door open because of the force of the wind.
"I saw something moving under the limb and I couldn't get out to help the poor man," he said.
A couple of neighbors got to him, dragged him out of the rain, into a garage and called 911.
"He could tell me his wife’s name, his name," said Knight. "But he was definitely in shock."
The package the mailman was trying to deliver was stuck under the tree.
"He was doing his job, actually. Rain, sleet, snow," said Knight. "He was out here delivering a package. That guy should get an award."
The man was complaining of head and neck injuries, but he is expected to be OK.
