Texas woman killed after making terrible mistake when tornado struck her home
A Texas woman was tragically killed after she took shelter inside a trailer when a destructive tornado hit.
Jamie Brown, 46, lost her life on Saturday after an EF-2 tornado touched down in Alvin - about 40 minutes outside of Houston.
Jamie's wife Stafnie Brown said her partner was making lunch in her trailer when the cyclone hit, forcing her to take cover there.
As Stafnie hunkered down in another mobile home with her mother, her wife of six years was tossed about 100 feet away as the storm launched her trailer into the air.
After the tornado blew through, Stafnie frantically went outside to search for Jamie.
'I searched and I searched and I hollered, and I searched and I hollered. I walked that way, and that’s when I found her,' Stafnie told KHOU 11.
The heartbroken wife said she discovered Jamie face up in a puddle after she was thrown out of the trailer and into the wreckage.
'I tried to do CPR, but she was already gone. She got pummeled by stuff and the house,' she added.
Jamie Brown, 46, died on Saturday after an EF-2 tornado touched down in Alvin, Texas
Her wife, Stafnie Brown, found Jamie face up in a puddle after she was thrown from a trailer home on their family's property
Stafnie said that just 10 minutes before the deadly tornado hit, their family, who all live on the land, got alerts on their phones.
She believes her mother's home might have collided with the trailer Jamie was in, leading to her wife's death.
'I guess my mom’s house hit their house, and it kind of knocked it off, and I guess the tornado picked it up,' she told the outlet.
'Based on what I understand, it picked it up whole, threw it over there, dropped and exploded.'
The widow now has to process not just losing her home, but the love of her life, who she said she married 28 days after they met.
'I think she's going to be there when I wake up, she's not,' Stafnie told KTRK.
Despite losing Jamie, she said her wife would want her to move on following the horrific tragedy.
The widow now has to process not just losing her home, but the love of her life, who she said she got married to after 28 days of meeting. (Pictured: Jamie and Stafnie)
'I am devastated. I mean, I can't do nothing, but I can pick up and go on because that is what she would want me to do,' she said.
A total of seven people - all family members - lived on the property, which has since been left in ruins from the tornado.
Erica Ackerman was one of four who weren't home at the time, but when she returned, her house was gone.
'We're all lost and numb and it's really hard to process, like I know it's real, I can see that it's real, but still, sometimes it doesn't feel real,' Erica said.
She told KHOU11 that prior to the cyclone, the trailer she shares with her husband Billie Foster - Stafnie's brother - made it through multiple hurricanes.
'Made it through three hurricanes, and a tornado came and took everything.
Despite losing Jamie (pictured), Stafnie said her wife would want her to move on following the horrific tragedy
A total of seven people - all family members - lived on the property, which has since been left in ruins from the tornado. (Pictured: Jamie and Stafnie)
'It still doesn’t even feel real. It does but it doesn’t, and it’s still trying to process everything,' Erica said.
Billy said that despite having insurance for their home, the company 'refused to help' the couple after the last two storms, including Hurricane Harvey.
'Our house is now behind the neighbor’s house, completely shredded to nothing,' Billy added.
Erica has launched a GoFundMe page to help the family raise money following the horrific event.
'There are 6 of us displaced, and we have completely lost everything, including a dear family member. We are needing to start completely over,' she wrote.
As of Monday morning, more than $4,400 was raised to assist the family.
Four others were hurt during Saturday's storms, but according to officials, they were left with non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to recover.
The Texas Division of Emergency Management and Red Cross and currently working on full damage assessments, a spokesperson for the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office told KHOU11.
Rare December tornadoes have torn through the South, with 40 reports from Texas to Alabama over the Christmas period.
Severe weather also ramped up across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama over the weekend.
