An absolute tragedy has struck the small community of Pax, West Virginia as an 11-week-old boy was found dead in the aftermath of a heavy storm.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Department shared the heartbreaking news to several outlets. According to officers, a mother drove into the rising waters with her baby boy in the back seat, not realizing how deep they were. This is not being considered a homicide — the woman really did believe her car could push through. Sadly, that was not the case. Her vehicle stalled, and she got stuck in the currents. Around 8:30 a.m. on Friday, the unnamed mother was finally able to escape from the car herself after some time floating along the current. However, she was not able get her son out of the car before it was swept away by the raging rapids.
Sheriff Mike Fridley spoke to the Associated Press and said the distraught mother called 911 to report her baby missing, but due to the continually rising water levels it was already too late. According to the outlet, several thunderstorms beat down on the state which brought up to three inches of rain in a short period of time — the magnitude of the rain caused some flood levels to reach 18 feet in Pax. By the time the water went back down enough for law enforcement to continue their search six hours later, the baby had drowned and his body was found inside the submerged car.
So heartbreaking…
Sheriff Fridley spoke about the importance of safety during flooding while addressing the media, saying:
“We cannot stress enough, the importance of not driving through flood waters. Water depth is very hard to judge, as well as it is hard to judge the speed of moving water.”
Around 114 people drown every year due to flash flooding. And the most common way people die during flooding is driving into water that doesn’t look as deep as it is.
According to local outlet WCHS Eyewitness News, the FCSD had to delete their public Facebook page due to a virtual flood of hateful comments, many of which were pointing fingers at the mother. So horrible! This woman just lost her baby in a horrific event. Whether she made a mistake or not, she’s already suffering the consequences — this isn’t helping.
Before the page was taken down, the sheriff said in a video:
“People are just rude and uncaring, and I’m sorry. I’m praying for the family, praying for first responders. It’s just a terrible, terrible thing, but as of two o’clock, there will be no more Fayette County Facebook page.”
Seriously. It’s so easy to say things would be different for you when you’re sitting in the comfort of your own home.
So, so sad. Our hearts go out to the infant boy’s mother and family, as well as the community that suffered such a great loss. Sending love and light.
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