A Georgia family is mourning the tragic loss of two children after an oak tree crashed into their home during Hurricane Helene.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, parents Crystal and Herbert Taylor from Sandersville remembered their beloved children, Harmony, 7, and Derrick, 4, as inseparable.
“They had a special bond,” Herbert, 39, shared, while Crystal, 34, added, “They were made for each other.”
On the night of September 26, as Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category storm, the couple was at home with their three children, including 11-year-old daughter Cassidy.
After settling in for the night, Crystal was awakened around 4:00 a.m. by her mother, who inquired about the status of their trees. As the winds intensified, Herbert went outside for a moment and was on his way back to the bedroom where Harmony and Derrick were sleeping when a massive oak tree fell through the house, landing on their bed.
In a panic, Herbert shouted, “My babies!”
Following the crash, Crystal and Cassidy ran to a neighbor’s house, where Cassidy called 911, as the fallen tree also ignited an electrical fire.
Emergency responders arrived quickly and extinguished the flames but faced challenges in moving the heavy oak tree to reach Harmony and Derrick, as reported by the newspaper.
“I can’t get to my babies!” Crystal recalled shouting in desperation.
After more than five hours, responders finally managed to clear a path through the tree and recover the children’s bodies.
Harmony and Derrick’s funeral is scheduled for Sunday, October 6, at Union Hill Baptist Church in Tennille, Georgia.
In a poignant message included in their obituaries, the family reflected on the joy that filled Harmony and Derrick’s “brief time on earth.”
“As a family, we are thankful for the happiness we’ve experienced,” the message read. “When your angels came for them much sooner than we anticipated, we will endure the grief and seek to understand.”
