Donna Fagersten had taken refuge at a friend’s home on the top floor as Hurricane Helene tore through northern Florida, leaving a devastating trail of destruction and more than 100 casualties in the southeastern U.S.
As the storm appeared to calm, the 66-year-old teacher, just days away from her retirement, made a fateful choice to return home to rescue her cat.
When Hurricane Helene hit Florida on September 26, 2024, around 11 p.m., the Category 4 storm triggered flash floods, forcing residents to scramble for safety. One of the hardest-hit areas was Pinellas County, particularly in the Tampa Bay region, where at least 11 people lost their lives.
Among the victims was Donna Fagersten, a second-grade teacher from Ponce De Leon Elementary in Pinellas County.
According to her best friend Heather Anne Boles, Donna was set to retire the following week after dedicating 35 years to teaching. When the storm hit, Donna sought shelter with Boles and her partner, Mike Moran. As the storm surge rushed in, they retreated to the third floor of Boles’ mother’s home, across from the beach where Donna lived.
Boles recalled that as the storm seemed to settle, Donna insisted on going home to check on her cat, despite Boles’ pleas to stay. Tragically, another surge and high winds returned, battering the coastline.
A neighbor later came to their shelter, reporting that someone had been found floating in the parking garage. They quickly pulled Donna from the water and began CPR, but despite their efforts and the arrival of fire rescue by boat, they were unable to revive her.
Detectives later confirmed that Donna had drowned in her home, which had been flooded with water.
Family and friends have since remembered Donna as a “beautiful person” who was deeply committed to her students and community. In a Facebook post, Mary Gleason Lyons, a colleague and friend, described Donna as a dedicated teacher with a big heart, touching the lives of many students over her 35-year career.
Online tributes poured in, with former students and friends expressing their sadness at her passing and remembering her kindness and warmth.
While Boles and Moran are now left to clean up after the floods, which destroyed most of their belongings, the loss of their best friend is what hurts the most. “This is the worst we have ever seen,” Boles said, reflecting on the storm’s destruction compared to Hurricane Irma, where they managed to keep their home and belongings intact.
On a positive note, Donna’s cat survived, and her friends are working to find him a new home.
Hurricane Helene, which cut a destructive 800-mile path northward, left more than 2 million homes without power and claimed over 100 lives, according to USA Today.
Here’s how many years in prison she is expected to face. Mississippi mother who went viral because she neglected her freezing son, has been arre sted.
Mississippi mother who went viral because she neglected her freezing son, has been arre sted.
Good. Kambria Darby was arre sted in Byram, Mississippi after her 2 year old son needed paramedics’ attention for ‘freezing & shaking.’
Darby has since compared herseIf to Jesus in a Facebook post, saying she was being done like Jesus was. The boy was taken by Child Protective Services and later released to a relative with his two siblings.
Darby is facing up to six years in jaiI if she is convicted for neglecting her child.
Darby claims she did nothing wrong.
They did Jesus the same way, he felt sick to his stomach as well; he didn’t want to go through it. My village ain’t gone play about my 3 & neither do I! Again I can’t say everything it’s a legal matter but my kids are not a charity case, they are not negIected, and I am not mentally ill! Stop it with the defamation!”
Reports claim temperatures were below 20 degrees Fahrenheit while the baby was in nothing but a diaper.
The woman who tried protecting the chiId and filmed the encounter, Felicia Nicole, worked at the Walmart where this happened.
She has since been fired. Walmart doesn’t care about their employees! I was only trying to help, she said.
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