College Student Texted His Mom Goodbye as Tornado Struck His Home
A University of Central Arkansas senior spent his final moments taking shelter in a bathroom, sending a goodbye text to his mother as a tornado bore down on his home last week.
"Goodbye mama..." 22-year-old Jeffrey Hunter wrote to his mom, Regina Wood, who was 20 miles away.
"It's heading right for me."
The tornado hit the Vilonia, Ark., house where Hunter was staying with his father and stepmother. They both survived, but Hunter didn't. A neighbor found his body the debris after the EF-4 storm leveled homes in the area.
"I kept saying are you okay? Are you okay? Let me know. Let me know. No answer," Hunter's mom told local news station KNWA.
Hunter was one 15 Arkansas residents who died in the tornado. His graduation from the University of Central Arkansas would have taken place over the weekend. Instead, his funeral service was Saturday.
His mother says she takes comfort in the thought that, even though he feared he wouldn't survive, he thought to tell her goodbye.
