After crash leaves home in ruins, a Secret Santa brings relief to young mom
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A local Secret Santa is giving $1 million to deserving people in eastern Idaho this holiday season. Every day, from now until the end of the year, the East Idaho News elves will be delivering gifts from Secret Santa and we’ll be sharing the surprise videos here.
Just six weeks after welcoming her long-awaited rainbow baby, Emma’s life was upended when a speeding truck ran a stop sign, veered off the road and slammed into her home — an ordeal that left her family displaced, overwhelmed, and caught in an insurance stalemate.
The crash sent debris flying through her dining room, shattering windows, destroying a load-bearing wall, rupturing water lines and flooding the entire first floor and basement. Ceilings, walls, insulation, flooring — nearly everything inside the home was left soaked and ruined.
To make matters worse, the driver’s insurance and the family’s homeowners insurance are the same company, leaving Emma effectively unrepresented as the two sides stalled. Repairs have crawled forward, and the family’s well-being has been stuck in the middle of the dispute.
Their home was initially ruled unsafe, and the insurer placed them in a temporary Airbnb. But with repairs far from finished, the family was forced to return once basic utilities were restored.
Today, the house remains in disrepair: the shattered load-bearing wall is still only covered in plywood, floors are ruined, mold is spreading in the basement, and water-damaged ceilings and walls remain untouched. Electrical issues have also caused the family to lose two full refrigerators of food.
Amid the chaos, heartbreak, and months of living in a half-wrecked home, Emma received an unexpected moment of hope when a local Secret Santa asked the East Idaho News elves to surprise her with an early Christmas present. Check out the video in the player above!
