Buffalo woman, 22, dies in blizzard after sending final video to family on way home from work
Anndel Taylor told her family members in a group chat that she was ‘scared’ as she was trapped in her car for around 18 hours
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Your support makes all the difference.A 22-year-old woman has died in the historic Buffalo blizzard after she sent a final video to her family on her way home from work.
Anndel Taylor was driving home on Friday afternoon when her car became stranded in the snow.
She remained trapped inside the car for around 18 hours while Winter Storm Elliot raged on all around her, her family said.
During those terrifying hours, the 22-year-old told her family members she was “scared” and sent two videos capturing the extreme blizzard blowing around her.
The first video, sent to her family group chat at around 4.15pm ET on Friday, shows the windshields of her car completely covered in snow.
She sent a second video just after midnight on Christmas Eve where she lowered her window slightly to reveal the thick snow and blizzard conditions outside.
Taylor’s sister Shawnequa Brown told WCOS that she “was telling my sister that she was scared”.
Sometime later, the family – who are based in Charlotte, North Carolina – lost contact with her.
Hours later, the 22-year-old was found dead inside her car – becoming one of the 28 and counting victims killed by the extreme weather in the western city in New York state.
Taylor’s family said that neither they nor the 22-year-old realised how much danger she was in.
“I don’t know if any of us really knew how serious it was, we didn’t see the news, we didn’t really know what was going on in Buffalo,” Ms Brown said.
Her mother Wanda Brown Steele told the local outlet that her daughter had called 911 and was waiting for emergency services to respond.
But, after they were unable to reach her in the treacherous conditions, Taylor instead planned to sleep through the storm and then head home by foot when it passed.
While her cause of death is yet to be confirmed, Ms Steele believes her daughter died from carbon monoxide poisoning after snow blocked the exhaust pipe.
Taylor’s other sister Tomeshia Brown voiced her frustration that first responders were unable to reach her before it was too late.
“I feel like everybody that tried to get to her got stuck. Fire department, police, everybody got stuck,” she said.
“Why didn’t they have chains on their tires? This is a state that is known for snow.”
Taylor had only moved back to New York this year to care for her father after she moved to Charlotte with her family at the age of two.
Now, her family is left to spend the rest of the holidays without her, with the 22-year-old’s presents still waiting for her under the tree. They have launched a GoFundMe to help with memorial expenses.
Taylor is one of at least 28 people who have so far died as a result of the historic winter storm battering Buffalo in one of the coldest Christmas storms on record.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul described the area as “a war zone” with officials warning the death toll could climb higher as people and cars remain stranded.
President Joe Biden has now approved an emergency declaration and authorised FEMA to send in resources to help the state.
While Buffalo has been hardest hit by the extreme weather wrought by Storm Elliot, a total of 56 deaths have also been confirmed across the country.
Holiday travel has also been plunged into chaos with around 20,000 flights cancelled across the long weekend according to FlightAware.com.
Airlines are still struggling to get back on schedule with around 2,800 flights grounded as of Tuesday morning.
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