Indiana Task Force 1 helped try to rescue mom, infant who died in hurricane

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH/AP) — A mother and an infant were among the victims in Hurricane Florence. 

Indiana Task Force 1 and other first responders from the local fire department were on the ground Friday in Wilmington, North Carolina, to work to free them.

The mother and child were pinned under a tree that fell on their home. 

A tweet from the task force said Wilmington Fire Department rescued the father, who was taken to a hospital for treatment. 

The family’s neighbor, Adam Sparks, told The Associated Press, “I noticed that they were battening down and stocking up for the storm ahead just like most of us were. It’s sad, something like that happening to a neighbor.”

“It was very dark, and the wind being high like it is now, it was even higher then. So, all you could see was water and wind and it was very loud winds. So, you can’t really figure out what’s going on out there. Later, I saw the rescue squad and I figured they were just responding to like a downed power line. I figured maybe a limb had came in and crushed the power line and that’s what they’re responding to.”

Sparks said that he knew the family “only in passing.

“I was closer with the family before but nobody wants it to see this happen to their neighbors. They were stocking up. I was stocking up. Again, routine hurricane preparedness. But, nobody can prepare for that. That’s something from the treeline. They had some old trees behind the house back there, and it was only a matter of time for one of them to give, but you can’t really predict any of that part.”

Sparks said he was glad he rode out the storm. 

“I’m glad I did remain cause I was able to reduce some of the damage to my property during the storm, batting down a couple of trees. But, it is always the worst-case scenario here that you have to try to prepare for. Nobody knows everything.”