Tragedy after toddler ripped from mum's arms during hurricane
A one-year-old boy has been found dead after he was swept out of his mother’s arms by Hurricane Florence’s raging floodwaters in North Carolina.
Dazia Lee, and her son, Kaiden Lee-Welch, were traveling east on Highway 218 in northern Union County, to visit relatives during the storm on Sunday when the incident took place.
The mother told Union County Sheriff’s Office that she encountered police barricades but said they were pushed slightly to the side of the road, leading her to believe it was safe to drive past them.
According to the Associated Press, the woman continued traveling east until she encountered rushing floodwaters, which swept her vehicle off the road and pinned it against a row of trees.
Although she was able to free Kaiden from his car seat and escape the flooded vehicle, the powerful waters pulled the baby from his mother’s grasp and swept him away.
“I was holding his hand, trying to hold him, trying to pull him up,” she told Fox 46 WJZY.
“I couldn’t hold on anymore and he let go.”
She described him as “the sweetest boy” and said that she would never intentionally put her baby in harm’s way.
She revealed she was bringing her son to visit her great-grandmother and was not familiar with the area.
With AP
