Louisiana

Girl on Respirator, In Wheelchair Rescued After Tornado Takes Family Home on โ€˜Wizard of Oz' Ride

A witness said all the men in the New Orleans suburb neighborhood ran into the wreckage of the house to find the girl

A tornado tore through parts of New Orleans
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

The tornado that ripped through a New Orleans suburb lifted one house into the air and dropped it onto the middle of a street with a family of three inside.

Neighbors said the parents of a girl climbed out of the wreckage screaming frantically for help. Their daughter was on a breathing machine, and now was stuck inside.

Chuck Heirsch told The Times-Picayune / New Orleans Advocate that he called 911 as he saw his neighbor on Prosperity Street trying to reach his daughter.

โ€œThey were screaming. His wife was hysterical. They were already traumatized from taking that โ€˜Wizard of Ozโ€™ ride,โ€ Heirsch said.

โ€œAll the men in the neighborhood ran to the house. The mother, they brought her to me. I just held her,โ€ Nerissa Ledet told the newspaper. โ€œI tried to console her. I said, โ€˜You know theyโ€™re going to get her out.โ€™โ€

Firefighters quickly arrived and carried her out in a blanket. St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis described the rescue, saying she's in a hospital and โ€œdoing fine.โ€

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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