‘I tried to save her:’ Mother dies when tree falls on house during Helene

ANDERSON COUNTY, South Carolina (WHEN/Gray News) – A South Carolina man is grieving the death of his mother, who was killed during Helene.

Sandy Lee Fisher, 54, died when a tree fell on her trailer in South Carolina’s Anderson County around 6 a.m. Friday.

“I’m going to have nightmares for the rest of my life,” said his son Brandon, who was home with him.

Brandon said his mother was sleeping when the tree fell on her.

“When she landed on top of her, she started screaming and it shocked me because I couldn’t get away from her,” she said. “I tried to save him.”

Brandon said he was sitting next to his mother just before the incident.

“I heard the wind blowing and then the tree broke,” he said. “It was too late, he came in through the window.”

He said he also hit a tree but was “lucky enough to get up.”

“I don’t know how I did it, but I did it,” he said. “I think my mom saved me.”

As of Saturday afternoon, at least 52 Helene-related deaths had been reported in four states, according to the Associated Press. The storm reached Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday night, bringing devastating flooding and rainfall to the southeastern United States.