A Texas mother sacrificed her own life to save her 3-year-old daughter from drowning in Hurricane Harvey’s floods.
According a Beaumont police’s Facebook post, the unidentified 41-year-old mother had abandoned her car when floods in Beaumont trapped her, reports USA Today.
Both mother and child ended up in a canal, but the mother did everything she could to make sure her daughter would be safe.
Rescuers eventually found the mother floating, unresponsive, in the canal with her daughter still holding onto her.
“The baby also had a backpack that was helping her float on her back and she was holding on to her mom,” Officer Carol Riley told People.
“The mother did the best she could to keep her child up over the water,” she added, later stating that she “absolutely saved the child’s life.”
According to Beaumont Police, the mother died, but the 3-year-old girl is now doing well. The child had hypothermia but is expected to recover.
“First responders took turn performing CPR until they could get her to an ambulance,” the police department wrote on its Facebook page. “Water was still high so a citizen helped by allowing first responders to load the mother and daughter in his truck and brought them all to a waiting ambulance at Laurel and 23rd St. The mother died but the child is in stable condition.”
While news of her death stunned and saddened social media users, her sacrifice also won the admiration of many.
“Brave mother,” wrote one person on the Daily’s Mail Facebook post. “May she be remembered as a hero and rest knowing she saved her child’s life.”
“I am so sorry for the loss of this woman,” another wrote on the Beaumont Police’s Facebook page. “But thankful they saved the baby in time. I live in Kentucky but want you all to know that my prayers are with you. I have no idea why so many natural disasters are happening, but pray that God will give our country the strength to recover. God bless you all.”
So far, authorities report at least 30 confirmed and suspected flood-related deaths, according to The New York Times.
On Aug. 27 one teenager died after posting about the storm on Facebook, the New York Post reports.
“No sleep & anxiety, please let this pass sooner,” wrote 16-year-old Devy Saldivar.
She, alongside her siblings and grandparents, drowned while trying to escape in a van only a few hours later.
Sources: Beaumont Police/Facebook, People, The New York Times, New York Post, Devi Saldivar/Facebook, Daily Mail/Facebook / Featured Image: Jill Carlson/Flickr
Leave a Comment