Nishelle Harris-Miles, Dayton, Ohio woman killed after nail from roof ripped off by Hurricane Ian pierces artery as group waited 14 hours before final rescue.
It was suppose to be a dream vacation… instead it turned out to be a nightmare…
‘Nobody came to rescue us…’ An Ohio woman celebrating her 40th birthday with relatives and friends during what was supposed to be a ‘dream vacation’ in Florida was killed when a nail from a collapsing roof during this weekend’s Hurricane Ian, pierced her heart.
Nishelle Harris-Miles traveled to Fort Myers, Florida, from Dayton, Ohio, just prior to the arrival of the storm, relatives told WLWT.
At the height of the hurricane, according to relative, Chanel Maston, who was with her cousin at the time of the ensuring rapid floods, the group had attempted using a sheet to try and stay together as water flooded the room.
‘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.’
‘Nobody came…’
She continued: ‘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.’
During the hurricane, Maston posted videos on Facebook, assuring family members in Ohio that the group was safe.
Added Maston: ‘We started calling people before the water really started rising. We called 911. We called 211. We called everybody to get us out of there, and nobody came.’
The relentless wind and rain continued to pummel the home’s roof until it finally gave way, trapping Harris-Miles and puncturing a major artery.
Her cousin said: ‘She got trapped under. A nail pierced her main artery. She just turned 40 on September 23. She just turned 40.’
Nishelle died on September 29. According to Facebook posts, the rest of her party were able to fly home in September 30. Her remains are still in Florida.
The group was trapped in the home for 14 hours before they were rescued.
‘I will never be the same again’
Maston paid tribute saying: ‘She loved everything. She loved life.’
Read Nichelle’s Facebook profile page: ‘I love to have fun, enjoy myself, you only live once. If it don’t make dollars then it don’t make sense.’
On Sunday, a balloon release took place in honor of Harris-Miles at her home in Dayton.
‘Went for peace and came back broken, lost, confused, guilty,’ LaQuitta Heard, Nishelle’s friend told WHIO. ‘I personally will never be the same again’.
Adding, ‘I had to watch her slowly die while we were being emerged in 18 feet of water with winds at a speed of 167 mph’.
The death toll from Hurricane Ian climbed past 80 on Sunday as embattled residents in Florida and the Carolinas faced a recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars, and some officials faced criticism over their response to the storm.
Death toll expected to rise
Fatalities were expected to keep rising as floodwaters receded and search teams pushed farther into areas initially cut off from the outside world.
Hundreds of people have been rescued as emergency workers sifted through homes and buildings inundated with water or completely washed away.
The bulk of the deaths confirmed in Florida were from drowning in storm waters, but others from Ian’s tragic aftereffects. An older couple died when they lost power and their oxygen machines shut off, authorities said.
As of Saturday, more than 1,000 people had been rescued from flooded areas along Florida’s southwestern coast alone.
Florida utilities were working to restore power. As of Sunday morning, nearly 850,000 homes and businesses were still without electricity, down from a peak of 2.67 million.
