A woman died on her birthday trip after a nail from a roof torn off by powerful winds punctured her main artery.
40-year-old Nishelle Harris-Miles from Dayton, Ohio, traveled to Fort Myers in Florida days before the storm hit Florida’s west coast to celebrate her birthday with her loved ones.
The family, however, found themselves trapped in a collapsing home after Hurricane Ian hit the coastal city and flooded the streets and buildings.
“We strapped ourselves to each other with a sheet, laid on the mattress. That water came out that floor so fast, so quick. The roof was smashing us,” Nishelle’s cousin, Chanel Maston, recalled in an interview with WLWT.
As the cousin explained, the room they were in was flooded very fast, whereas the powerful wind ripped the roof off its frame.
“We tried to kick off the roof and lay on the mattress. It kicked off that roof, so that roof wouldn’t smash us and the roof went, and we went,” Maston added.
Eventually, the roof gave in and came smashing down on the family. In the process, Harris-Miles’s main artery was punctured by one of the nails sticking out of the roof.
“She got trapped under. A nail pierced her main artery. She just turned 40 on September 23. She just turned 40,” the woman’s cousin added while revealing the family was stuck in the house for 14 hours before they were rescued.
Following Nishelle’s premature death, family and friends paid the “fun” and “lively” young lady a tribute.
“She loved everything. She loved life,” Maston said.
Meanwhile, one of the victim’s friends wrote: “I love you sister and I pray the heavens enjoy your company as much as we did. You were definitely the life of the party.”
Another friend added: “I’m so glad we spent your birthday with you. I’m so glad I told you I loved you before we left. I will forever miss you.”
Our thoughts are with Nishelle’s family and friends and all other victims of Hurricane Ian.
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