Company steps in to help a Brooksville family escape a sinking situation

A Brooksville man is counting his blessing after a local business stepped in to help save his childhood home from a rather large problem.

"My sister and I were praying for a miracle and the Lord sent us LRE," said Richard Gray.

The miracle came in the form of a bulldozer and about a dozen workers outside his childhood home.

Richard Gray's mom, Lily, worked hard to provide her family with a home. But, when Tropical Storm Debby hit in June the pink house on Broad Street was not spared.

"Just driving by here, you knew something was not right," said Frank Vitale with LRE Ground Construction.

After the flood, three very large sink holes caught the attention of LRE Ground Services, a nearby foundation repair company.

"These are things we don't even think twice about. We want to be able to help if we can," said Vitale.

Richard said LRE contacted him immediately asking how they could help with his mom's house, but he turned to FEMA first for aid. When those funds ran out recently, he called LRE asking for advice. He got much more than that.

"I can not believe somebody would go out of their way just to help somebody," said Gray.

At no charge, the company went to work filling the sink holes with a special form of grout. "These are just temporary. These are so he can start to begin to get back to some normalcy here," said Vitale.

While the sinkholes are nearly filled, a hole remains in Richard's heart. His mom died a month after Debby cleared and was never able to come back to her home.

"Of course it is not going to bring my mother back, but we feel it would be something she would want us to do," said Gray.

LRE plans to plant a new Oak tree in honor of Richard's mom and re-sod the land at no charge.

"They are a new family. There is not enough words to express gratitude for LRE," said Gray.

By: Kimberly Kuizon| ABC Action News