Mar 29, 2007 11:29 pm US/Mountain
Victims Relive Deadly Tornado In Holly
by Anna Alejo
HOLLY, Colo. (CBS4) ―
A wife and mother lost her life to the tornado that Holly on Wednesday evening. Rosemary Rosales, 29, died in the hospital Thursday morning with her family by her side.
When the tornado hit, an elaborate network of flight crews responded from all over Colorado and Kansas taking the injured, including Rosales, to Swedish Medical Center and other hospitals around the state.
Rosales was the most critically injured.
Oscar Puga said his brother, Rosemary's husband, Gustavo, told him the tornado hit without warning.
"He tried to hold onto both of them and he just couldn't," Oscar said.
Rosemary was Gustavo's childhood sweetheart and the mother of his two children. She died after being lifted by the force of the winds into a tree.
"All they heard was this big ugly noise," Rosemary's sister Victoria said. "They didn't have time to run. He just went and grabbed them both, and that's when it came and just threw them and Rosemary got separated from them."
Dr. Andy Berson said Rosemary died at approximately 5:30 a.m. with her family at her bedside. Doctors tried for four hours to save her life, but she could not survive her injuries.
"Right now it hasn't hit him," Oscar said. "I think later on, when he's out and he actually realizes what's gone on, he's going to take it pretty hard."
Also in Holly, Louise Neil, 89, survived the tornado. Neil said she received a call from her daughter warning her a tornado was over Holly.
"Before I could put the receiver down, it hit," Neil said.
But there wasn't any time and Neil said she hit the floor. After 89 years of living in Prowers County, she said she was stunned at what nature could do.
"Oh gosh, I never went through anything like that in all my life," Neil said. "The roaring and the crashing and the windows."
Unable to retrieve anything from the shambles in her home, Louise walked barefoot in the night until she found two boys who carried her to safety.
"I feel very, very lucky," Neil said.
Neil was sent home from Swedish Medical Center Thursday.
Gustavo Pugo and their three-year-old daughter, Noelia, are expected to survive and recover from their physical injuries. The family's modular home was completely leveled by the tornado. Gustavo's semi was flipped over like a toy truck. Extended family from all over the country is coming to offer support during this very trying time.
Additional Resources
- Click here to donate to the Holly, Colorado Tornado Fund.
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