North Texas tornado victims identified
DALLAS - A total of 11 people were killed by Saturday night's tornado outbreak -- the second deadliest in DFW history according to the National Weather Service.
Officials said eight people died when an EF-4 tornado hit Garland, all of them in their vehicles.
Among them were 30-year-old Kimberly Tippett and her 1-year-old son Kamryn Crain. According to her family and a GoFundMe page, she leaves behind two other children.
Petra Porras's family said she was on her way home on I-30 when the tornado hit her SUV. The 27-year-old mother of four was on the phone with her husband when it happened.
"She started screaming and the call disconnected. I tried to call her back, tried to call her back and I couldn't," said Ruben Porras.
Cecil Lowrie, 77, also died when his vehicle was thrown from I-30. Family members said he was out celebrating the 53 rd anniversary of the day he met his wife when it happened. She is now hospitalized in critical condition.
The Collin County Sheriff's Office said one of their dispatch officers, 32-year-old Lashondra Whitaker, was killed.
"Although Shon has only been employed by Collin County Sheriff's Office since August 2015, she earned the respect and friendship of her fellow dispatchers. We offer our condolences to the family and friends of all the victims of the tornadoes on December 26," the sheriff's office said on Facebook.
The tornado caused the multi-vehicle accident that killed 42-year-old Sharva Sanders, according to family members.
She was with was actually returning home from a funeral with her boyfriend and another passenger when it happened. Her boyfriend had to be cut from the vehicle, but is expected to survive.
"Sharva was one of the sweetest people you could meet! She had a sense of humor that was out of this world and at was all packed in a 4ft 10in body!" her cousin Erriel Dennis posted in an online blog.
Sanders leaves behind three children and two grandchildren.
The two other Garland victims were Jose Oviedo Juarez, 19, and Timothy Harris, 58.
In Collin County, 65-year-old Jerry Brazeal and 49-year-old Jerry Funderburk, Jr. were killed when an EF-2 tornado touched down on top of a gas station in Copeville.
An EF-0 tornado killed a 2-day-old baby named Aeleyah Santillano in a mobile home in Blue Ridge. Neighbor Debralee King said the newborn's father ran to her after the tornado hit with his daughter in his arms.
"She only had on her onesies thing and I only had on a tee shirt trying to keep her warm," King said. "I kept saying please baby, please baby be okay I did the best I could but now begin to think it wasn't enough it's just haunting."
The baby's mother and father were hurt in the tornado, but three other children were ok.
At least 23 people were injured by an EF-3 tornado in Rowlett, but no deaths were reported in that area.
There were also no deaths related to the EF-3 tornado that hit in Ellis County.