Helene’s victims include first responders who died helping others
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Falling trees and raging floods from Hurricane Helene killed hundreds of people when it plowed through the Southeast as one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history.
People died in six states: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Among them were first responders who perished in wind-ravaged and rain-soaked communities, often while trying to help others. Not all were human: An eastern Tennessee police department lost a K-9 named Scotty to the rapidly rising floodwaters.
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Severe weather means likely storm damage, and just as common as fallen trees or damaged homes are scammers who try to make a dollar during a time of disaster.
Here are some of the stories of the victims:
Two South Carolina firefighters killed by fallen tree
A veteran South Carolina fire chief and a young firefighter who was just starting his career died when their engine was struck by a falling tree, officials said.
A convoy on Tuesday led the bodies of Chad Satcher, 53, a 35-year-veteran, and Landon Bodie, 18, from a hospital to a funeral home in Saluda County.
“We lost two dedicated who loved their communities and neighbors enough to make the ultimate sacrifice,” Saluda County Fire Services in a Facebook post.
Satcher and Bodie were responding to a building fire when the tree fell hit their truck.
North Carolina deputy who ran jail caught in floodwaters
Sheriff’s Capt. Michelle Quintero, who ran Madison County jail, died while driving to work Sunday when a dam broke and she was caught in the floodwaters.
Quintero, 48, knew when she took the oath of office that she might one day “have to give it all,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Coy Phillips, her brother.
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“From the juveniles we house to the most hardcore inmate we had, everybody loved her. She was one of those people who treated everybody right. She treated everybody fair,” Phillips said. “It didn’t matter who or what you were, she took care of everybody.”
Phillips said he was left heartbroken: “She was my everything.”
North Carolina deputy swept away while on lunch break
A North Carolina deputy’s truck was carried off by an overflowing river while he was on lunch break from his job as a courthouse security officer, according the Macon County Sheriff’s Office.
The office received a call shortly before noon Friday about a truck sinking in the river with someone trapped inside, officials said.
Around the same time, officials realized that Deputy Jim Lau had not returned from lunch, and his truck matched description of the one in the river.
Beech Island couple died hugging each other when tree fell
John Savage said his grandparents were found hugging one another in the bed, adding that the family thinks it was God’s plan to take them together, rather than one suffer without the other.
Rescue workers began searching that afternoon on foot and with drones, and several swift-water teams were called in. The search was suspended at sunset, but Lau’s body was found shortly after it resumed Saturday morning.
“Jim was very liked and respected within our department,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “He was known to be a hard worker, dependable, and he jumped in wherever help was needed.”
The county is located about 140 miles east of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Assistant fire chief in southern Georgia killed by tree that fell on truck
Vernon “Leon” Davis, a veteran firefighter of 30 years, died in Blackshear when a tree fell on his vehicle, officials said. He was 69.
“Chief Davis is a hero who devoted his life to serving his fellow Georgians,” state Attorney General Chris Carr said on social media.
Thomson twin babies youngest-known Hurricane Helene victims
A large tree fell through a roof, crushing Kobe Williams and causing her to fall on top of infant sons Khyzier and Khazmir. All three were found dead.
Davis worked for years at the Ware State Prison before retiring as chief in charge of the facility’s inmate firefighting team. He then was hired as assistant chief for the department in Blackshear, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Jacksonville, Florida.
“Leon loved helping his community any way he could and never let a chance to help someone slip past him,” the funeral home where he was taken said on its website.
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