Friends rally to help Alabama dad who lost leg saving daughter during tornado
ByBob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
ByBob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
FULTONDALE, Ala. — An Alabama community is coming together to help a father of three who lost his leg while saving his youngest daughter during Monday’s deadly tornado.
Two GoFundMe pages have been set up for Arnoldo Vasquez-Hernandez, of Fultondale. Vasquez-Hernandez was placed into a medically induced coma after being injured when a tree fell onto his home, AL.com reported.
His family lost everything in the storm, which killed one person in the suburban Birmingham city.
Elliot Hernandez, a 14-year-old boy unrelated to Vasquez-Hernandez, was the storm-related fatality, WIAT reported.
Vasquez-Hernandez and his wife rushed to get the kids -- ages 12, 9 and 7 -- out of bed, family friend Koty Ray told AL.com.
While the two older children were ushered to safety in the basement by Vasquez-Hernandez’s wife, Eloisa, the youngest child was being carried by Vasquez-Hernandez when a tree fell into the home, according to AL.com.
The tree struck Vasquez-Hernandez, who used his body to shield his daughter as he was pinned to the floor, WBRC reported.
“He saved her life,’' Monica Cordova, another family friend, told AL.com.
Vasquez-Hernandez’s niece, Selene Concepcion, said her uncle is awake and ate his first meal Thursday, according to WBRC.
“Every time he wakes up from the anesthesia that they had put him on every time he wakes up he will ask for his kids (and ask) how are they doing, how are they handling things out,” Concepion told the television station. “They don’t know yet that their dad lost a leg, so it’s going to be really a shock for them to know that their dad lost a leg.”
People who would like to donate to the Vasquez-Hernandez family can visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/29h741rxk0 or https://gofund.me/a27c58d3. As of late Thursday, one page has raised more than $13,900, while the other page has raised more than $10,900.
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Photos: Cleanup begins after deadly tornado strikes Fultondale, Alabama Patti Herring sobs as she sorts through the remains of her home in Fultondale, Ala., on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, after it was destroyed by a tornado. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
Photos: Cleanup begins after deadly tornado strikes Fultondale, Alabama Retired firefighter Clyde Crump yells for help while working at the home of his daughter and son-in-law on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, after it was destroyed by a tornado that hit Fultondale, Ala. The family survived by huddling in a basement storm shelter. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
Photos: Cleanup begins after deadly tornado strikes Fultondale, Alabama James Scott, 19, pauses while picking through the remains of his home, which was destroyed by a tornado, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Fultondale, Ala. Scott, who survived with his mother and sister, had never lived anywhere else and isn't sure where he will wind up after the storm. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
Photos: Cleanup begins after deadly tornado strikes Fultondale, Alabama National Weather Service staff inspect damage from a tornado on January 26, 2021, in Fultondale, Alabama. A tornado ripped through Fultondale damaging property and leaving one person dead and more than a dozen injured. (Wes Frazer/Getty Images)
Photos: Cleanup begins after deadly tornado strikes Fultondale, Alabama A restaurant sign lies on the ground after sustaining damage from a tornado on January 26, 2021, in Fultondale, Alabama. A tornado ripped through Fultondale damaging property and leaving one person dead and more than a dozen injured. (Wes Frazer/Getty Images)
Photos: Cleanup begins after deadly tornado strikes Fultondale, Alabama A sign lies on the ground after sustaining damage from a tornado on January 26, 2021, in Fultondale, Alabama. A tornado ripped through Fultondale damaging property and leaving one person dead and more than a dozen injured. (Wes Frazer/Getty Images)
Photos: Cleanup begins after deadly tornado strikes Fultondale, Alabama A welcome sign stands after sustaining damage from a tornado on January 26, 2021, in Fultondale, Alabama. A tornado ripped through Fultondale damaging property and leaving one person dead and more than a dozen injured. (Wes Frazer/Getty Images)
Photos: Cleanup begins after deadly tornado strikes Fultondale, Alabama Fallen trees damage a property in the wake of a tornado on January 26, 2021, in Fultondale, Alabama. A tornado ripped through Fultondale damaging property and leaving one person dead and more than a dozen injured. (Wes Frazer/Getty Images)
Photos: Cleanup begins after deadly tornado strikes Fultondale, Alabama Fallen trees damage a property in the wake of a tornado on January 26, 2021, in Fultondale, Alabama. A tornado ripped through Fultondale damaging property and leaving one person dead and more than a dozen injured. (Wes Frazer/Getty Images)
Photos: Cleanup begins after deadly tornado strikes Fultondale, Alabama The remains of homes in Fultondale, Ala., on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, after they were destroyed by a tornado. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
