NY woman who died after blizzard trapped her in her car for 18 hours sent terrifying final video to family

As a once-in-a-lifetime blizzard descended on Buffalo, New York, a young woman named Anndel Taylor tried to make it home after work only to get stranded in her car for 18 hours, sending a final heartbreaking video home to her loved ones before she died.

(Video Credit: TODAY)

Taylor, 22, died over the weekend after heading home on Friday afternoon, getting stuck with 50 inches of snow surrounding her vehicle. She is one of at least 28 who has perished in the snowstorm, devastating New York’s second-largest city according to the Associated Press.

The video came from inside her car the day before she was discovered dead from what her mother, Wanda Brown Steele, claimed was carbon monoxide poisoning, rather than hypothermia. It shows her trapped in the car as the wind howled outside after midnight on Saturday. She had called 911 and was waiting for first responders to come.

Her friends and family who saw the video begged for someone to help her because they were unable to get to her. Taylor wasn’t found until Saturday afternoon. She had moved back to Buffalo to take care of her father.

“She was telling my sister that she was scared,” Shawnequa Brown, who is Taylor’s sister, told WCOS. “I don’t know if any of us really knew how serious it was, we didn’t see the news, we didn’t really know what was going on in Buffalo.”

Taylor’s mother told WCOS her daughter was planning to sleep out the storm in her vehicle before walking home the next day. Hours later she was found dead in the car.

Taylor’s other sister, Tomeshia Brown, recounted that a number of people tried to rescue her but failed at doing so in the brutal storm.

“I feel like everybody that tried to get to her got stuck. Fire department, police, everybody got stuck,” the sister sadly remarked. “Why didn’t they have chains on their tires? This is a state that is known for snow.”

Tomeshia Brown posted on December 24, “My Sister Got Caught In A blizzard in Buffalo at 2pm yesterday. She was still stuck at 11pm lastnight !!!! Now she’s Lost under The snow And No one can find her ! I got this pain In my stomach.”

Another family member stated, “Anndel Taylor baby girl we fought to find you all day… we sent out wellness checks and all and police said it was nothing they could do we been trying to get people to get to her all day the plows buried her in her car and all without checking the car.”

The death toll is expected to rise as even more snow is set to hit the city. Taylor was one of three motorists who were found dead in their cars. There was a ban on personal road travel at the time of the blizzard and it remains in effect.

Some are beginning to dig out already and officials are warning that others who passed away in the storm are likely to be found. A further foot of snow is in the forecast.

Officials announced the latest death toll in a statement concerning the blizzard that battered Buffalo and Erie County regions, calling it “the worst storm probably in our lifetime” and warning “This is not the end yet.”

Buffalo got hit hardest, but the storm blasted the US from Montana to New York.

“We’ve had so many bodies that various hospitals are full,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz commented. “We’re just having to go through and determine if the individuals have died from a blizzard-related death.”

Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide state of emergency in New York on Monday. The total number of deaths connected to the bomb cyclone is approximately 70 so far, according to the Daily Mail.

https://twitter.com/KoolKidJJ/status/1606675207900602368

“Our police officers are human. It is painful to find members of your community that are deceased,” Buffalo mayor Byron Brown said, adding the blizzard’s victims “were trying to walk out during storm conditions, got disoriented and passed away out in the street.”

National Guard members and other first responders have rescued hundreds of people from snow-covered cars and homes without electricity, but authorities have warned that more people remain trapped.

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