Christmas Day was a sad occasion for many people in Buffalo, New York, due to the intense snowstorm that blew through and wrecked the lives of victims of the storm and their families.
Twenty-two-year-old nursing assistant Anndel Taylor was one of the ones who didn’t make it.
The weather left over 50 inches of snow and dozens of people dead in its wake.
Anndel Taylor finished her nursing assistant shift on the Friday before Christmas and started her drive home. She was caught in the blizzard that stalled all traffic on the road. It became nearly impossible for emergency vehicles to get to people stranded in their cars.
According to Taylor’s family, she spoke to them on the phone while she was trapped in her car, while the snow started to bury her vehicle. She sent them a video from inside her car, as she waited to be rescued. She called 911 but help never came. Sadly, Taylor was only minutes away from home.
For 18 hours, Taylor was trapped inside her car and was found dead inside the next day. Her family said that emergency vehicles were not able to make it to the scene since it was hard to travel due to the snow.
A female driver discovered and took Taylor’s body to the coroner using a truck that was able to go through thick snow. She contacted Taylor’s family after she discovered that they were searching for her on social media.
The family believes that Taylor died of carbon monoxide poisoning from her exhaust pipe, as she was not dressed as if she had been cold.
According to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Buffalo hospitals were full and emergency personnel are still searching for victims. He said the blizzard was the “worst storm probably in our lifetime.”
Taylor’s stepmother, Laneesha Smith, criticized Buffalo officials and said they should have imposed the travel ban early on. Clearing the snow was impossible, as it got covered quickly soon after they tried to clear an area up.
A ban on travel had been issued shortly before 9 am, too late because within an hour the snow began to rapidly fall.
“They said they were prepared for this storm but they were not prepared for this storm,” Smith said. “So many lives probably could have been saved if they put the travel ban in the night before.”
Smith believes that police and plows did not help her daughter on Saturday while they were trying to assist others.
Taylor’s family has started a GoFundMe for her wake. More than $15,000 has already been raised for her funeral and burial.
