Buffalo woman dies in her car after sending chilling video of being stranded in blizzard for 18 hours
BUFFALO, NEW YORK: Anndel Taylor, who was caught in the path of a historic winter storm and was stranded in her car, has died in Buffalo, New York. The 22-year-old woman died over the weekend as a result of her car becoming stuck in the snow on the way home from work on Friday, December 23.
Dozens of Americans have died as a winter storm brought frigid temperatures and paralyzing snowfall totals across the US, with many deaths reported from Erie county.
Taylor sent her family a farewell video from inside her car the day before she was discovered dead, from what her mother believes was carbon monoxide poisoning rather than hypothermia. No cause of death has been disclosed as of yet. It showed her car trapped in the snow soon after midnight on Saturday, December 24, as a terrifying wind howled outside. Her friends and relatives urged others in the neighborhood to help after seeing the video, and she was eventually located sometime after Saturday afternoon.
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Taylor, who lived in Charlotte, North Carolina after being born and raised in Buffalo, returned back to New York earlier this year to care for her father. The mother and sister of the 22-year-old discussed the agony of getting the gruesome footage and the subsequent waiting with WCOS in North Carolina.
Taylor informed her family members that she had been stranded in the snow while returning from work and it was pouring heavily in a group chat for the family. In the 16-second clip, Taylor can be seen sliding down the window that is coated in snow to reveal a wintry scene.
Taylor's relatives told local Charlotte media that they were unaware of the severity of the situation in western New York. "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," said sister Shawnequa Brown.
Tomeshia Brown, Taylor's other sister, claimed that while some individuals had attempted to save her and her car, their efforts had been ineffective. "I feel like everybody that tried to get to her got stuck," Tomeshia stated. "Fire department, police, everybody got stuck." "Why didn't they have chains on their tires? This is a state that is known for snow," Tomeshia stated. Taylor's death has not yet been given a cause, and local law enforcement officials have not yet confirmed that she was one of the storm's casualties.
The historic "once in a lifetime" storm has resulted in the deaths of 57 people nationwide in weather-related incidents. In Erie County, where Buffalo is located, 27 deaths had been officially reported as of Monday night.