'I have had enough loss:' Raleigh woman upset after she says fruit tree was trimmed without warning

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A tree controversy in Raleigh is bringing the homeowner to tears.

"Everything you see here, my momma planted it," Jinnean Evans told ABC11. "And my momma is gone now. My sister is gone. I have had enough loss."

She's upset because she awoke on Tuesday morning to discover that City of Raleigh workers were cutting her beloved fruit trees.

"I come down and all I could see were these four guys and they were having at it," she said.

Evans said the men told her there was a complaint that people couldn't see when going around the curve near her Farmington neighborhood home.

"All they had to do was call me and say, 'Ms. Evans, we had a complaint,'" she said, "and I would have told them I already made arrangements to have those trees trimmed back when the fruit is gone."

The City of Raleigh said a "visual obstruction" complaint was made in 2019.

According to a statement from the city, "the limbs were encroaching into the street 2-3 feet making it a safety issue for drivers and pedestrians regarding visibility."

The city said that, after the homeowner made the complaint, the Urban Forestry Inspector checked the work and "confirmed that correct cuts were made and there was no evidence of excessive pruning to create the necessary clearance."

Evans told ABC11 the tree has been there for 30 years.

"Please don't let this tree die," she said.