House Demolished Before Occupants Finish Moving Out

Elaine Kidd took a break from her house-moving chores in Monrovia the other morning to run an errand, and when she got home she found the job had been just about finished for her--by a bulldozer.

“The kitchen, bathroom, garage and part of Bryan’s room were destroyed,” Kidd said. “The appliances were out, but my husband’s grandmother’s antique china was lost.”

She said the surprise wrecking job Tuesday came a day ahead of schedule. Kidd, her husband, Raymond, and their son, Bryan, 10, hoped to move into their new home this weekend, and had been living with relatives while clearing out the old place in Monrovia.

“We’ve had people coming by to help us all day,” Kidd said, standing beside the ruins of her kitchen. “You really know how many friends you’ve got when a nightmare like this happens.”

Bulldozer driver Phil Holcomb said he had orders to get the job done as quickly as possible.

“I do a lot of wrecking jobs,” he said. “I don’t check to see if anything of value is left.”

Holcomb said he had been told by the man who bought the property to put up an apartment that the Kidds would be gone by last weekend.

“It’s unfortunate that they lost their property, but I don’t feel sorry for them,” Holcomb reportedly told a community newspaper. “They’ve known about this for the last six to eight months. I don’t know why they waited until the last minute to move.”