Nikki Bradshaw Carpenter + Mississippi tornado
Nikki Bradshaw Carpenter + Mississippi tornado, YAZOO CITY — Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Not all fight wars, arrest thugs, hit home runs or score touchdowns.
Nikki Bradshaw Carpenter of Yazoo City was a petite 5 feet 5 and weighed no more than 115 pounds. She was blonde-haired, with big brown eyes. She was a mother of three.
She was a country girl, who liked to go to dirt track races. She loved her three boys. Saturday, when the wicked tornado ravaged central Mississippi, she gave up her life to save them. She was 31.
"Nobody who knew Nikki and how much she loved those young'uns is surprised by what she did," said James Bradshaw of Florence, Nikki's father. "She loved those boys till her last breath."
The mobile home in which Nikki Bradshaw lived with her three sons was picked up and heaved more than a 100 yards by the 170 mph winds. Neighbors who first found the mangled mobile home heard the cries of the boys - Layne, 7, Ethan, 2, and Austin, 1. The three were found bruised, but alive, their mother's arm around them.
Layne, the 7-year-old first-grader, has since told his grandfather what happened.
Said James Bradshaw, "Layne said his mama received a call from someone that a storm was coming. So she took the three boys to the hallway, covered them with pillows and then got on top of them to protect them."
Layne's left hand was broken. Ethan, the middle child, needed surgery to repair his lacerated right ear. Austin, the baby, was hurt least of all.
First responders, who flew in by helicopter, said it appeared Nikki had died of a broken back and broken neck. Bradshaw says he hasn't heard the results of a planned autopsy.
"Layne told me he knew right away his mama was dead," James Bradshaw said. "He said he heard his little brothers were calling out for her and when she didn't answer he knew she was gone because she always answered when they called."
The two youngest children don't understand that their mother isn't coming back, the grandfather said.
"They cry for her all the time," Bradshaw said. "We've taken the pictures of her in the house down for the time being."
Nikki Bradshaw Carpenter of Yazoo City was a petite 5 feet 5 and weighed no more than 115 pounds. She was blonde-haired, with big brown eyes. She was a mother of three.
She was a country girl, who liked to go to dirt track races. She loved her three boys. Saturday, when the wicked tornado ravaged central Mississippi, she gave up her life to save them. She was 31.
"Nobody who knew Nikki and how much she loved those young'uns is surprised by what she did," said James Bradshaw of Florence, Nikki's father. "She loved those boys till her last breath."
The mobile home in which Nikki Bradshaw lived with her three sons was picked up and heaved more than a 100 yards by the 170 mph winds. Neighbors who first found the mangled mobile home heard the cries of the boys - Layne, 7, Ethan, 2, and Austin, 1. The three were found bruised, but alive, their mother's arm around them.
Layne, the 7-year-old first-grader, has since told his grandfather what happened.
Said James Bradshaw, "Layne said his mama received a call from someone that a storm was coming. So she took the three boys to the hallway, covered them with pillows and then got on top of them to protect them."
Layne's left hand was broken. Ethan, the middle child, needed surgery to repair his lacerated right ear. Austin, the baby, was hurt least of all.
First responders, who flew in by helicopter, said it appeared Nikki had died of a broken back and broken neck. Bradshaw says he hasn't heard the results of a planned autopsy.
"Layne told me he knew right away his mama was dead," James Bradshaw said. "He said he heard his little brothers were calling out for her and when she didn't answer he knew she was gone because she always answered when they called."
The two youngest children don't understand that their mother isn't coming back, the grandfather said.
"They cry for her all the time," Bradshaw said. "We've taken the pictures of her in the house down for the time being."
posted by Unknown @ 06:12
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