Who is Aaleya Carter? Missouri girl, 12, dies after being sucked into drain during flood
A 12-year-old schoolgirl, Aaleya Carter, died after being sucked into a drainage pipe. Aaleya was on her way home with her family after celebrating her birthday when the incident took place on Saturday, July 10. Reportedly, her family's car got caught up in floods as they tried to escape the heavy downpour near St Louis airport around 1.30am.
Aaleya died while her mom, brother and sister survived. In a similar incident, tropical storm Claudette in South-Eastern US resulted in a tragic crash near Interstate 65 after a series of cars hydroplaned on wet roads last month. Eight children, aged between 4 and 17 years, who were traveling at the time in a van from Alabama Sheriffs Association were killed in the massive 15-vehicle crash. A 3-year-old toddler and a man of 24 years were also found dead after a tree fell on their house in Tuscaloosa. All the deaths took place on Saturday, June 19, as the storm brought flash floods and cyclonic winds in Alabama and Georgia.
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Aaleya was found in a creek near the north side of the airport later. According to cops, Carter family's car was swept off the road while they were trying to reverse to avoid the flood. The family was on their way home from the movies after celebrating Aaleya's birthday. Aaleya’s grandmother, Tanya Carter, said they had to escape the car via the passenger’s side to save their lives. She told KDSK, "I guess they didn’t know they were on top of the drainage ditch and when she got out, she slid right inside the drainage." During the storm, floodwater as high as two feet was reported by drivers.
State police said of the tragic incident, "This vehicle attempted to go in the water and attempted a u-turn and go back up Airflight road to avoid the flooded roadway. As they turned in the water, the current swept the vehicle off the roadway and into that concrete drain opening." The tragedy surfaces as Storm Elsa caused severe damage in the East Coast and Midwest with tornadoes and flash floods. The NWS Storm Prediction Center earlier said there was a grave risk of thunderstorms in Missouri on Saturday, July 10.