Christopher McCarthy had warned his girlfriend Robyn not work that day.
“There was severe thunderstorm warnings and I asked her where she was working and she said under a big tent,” he said.
That day was Tuesday Aug. 22.
A severe thunderstorm with high winds hit Montreal, knocking out power and downing trees on parts of the island. The Strangers in The Night Charity Gourmet Gala lost its tent in the Fairview Shopping Centre parking lot.
READ MORE: Clean-up underway after severe storm, heavy winds rip through Montreal
“The winds came in and within 35 seconds it wiped out our first tent that we put up,” explains Larry Day, the Gala founder.
Pieces of tent went flying, striking Robyn Ehrlick, who was helping to co-ordinate the setup.
According to McCarthy, “one of the horizontal beams came down, swung down, hit her right in the face.”
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She suffered multiple fractures to her cheekbones and jaw, and on Wednesday she will undergo reconstructive surgery. So far, according to the family, there is no apparent brain damage.
McCarthy says she shouldn’t have been asked to work under a tent when there were thunderstorm warnings.
He also thinks there was negligence and is considering a lawsuit.
WATCH BELOW: Severe storm hits Montreal sends debris flying through the air
“The tent like that shouldn’t be blowing over,” he says.
But the company that set up the tent, Fiesta Tents says it was properly installed, but that it’s difficult to defend against a rare event, like a microburst, that caused the damage. They point out that the path of the microburst was quite narrow and is unpredictable.
It’s just the latest episode in a rough spring for Ehrlick and McCarthy. The Rigaud residents were one of the many families that were victims of the floods earlier this summer. They had to be evacuated from their home for two weeks. But just as things were returning to normal, the storm hit.
Friends have started a GoFundMe campaign to help with the mountain of unplanned expenses.
“We set it up because we really felt bad,” explains long-time friend Christopher Kaneb. “They had a rough year, so we set it up.”
By Tuesday they had raised over $14,000.
McCarthy is cautiously optimistic about Ehrlick’s recovery, but says it’ll be many months before she’ll be able to work, and she won’t even be able to eat for weeks.”
“I’m gonna have to make soup,” he quipped.
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