Mother recounts tragic moments before her 7-month-old twins were swept away in floodwaters
WAVERLY, Tenn. (WZTV) — While there are many loved ones still searching for family members Monday night in Tennessee, others are planning something they never wanted to imagine—including a family who lost their seven-month-old twins.
“It was the scariest thing of my life,” says Danielle Hall, the mother of Riliegh and Ryan, seven-month-old twins who lost their lives in the Waverly flooding.
“Ryan was my one and only boy that I prayed so hard for and he always smiled. That boy was the happiest baby I’ve ever seen in my life,” says Hall.
RELATED: Twin babies dead after swept away in flood waters in Waverly, grandmother says
"My little Riliegh-poo. She was a diva. She was a drama queen. She had to have all the attention,” recalls Hall.
The twins' father, Matthew, was holding on to them and his two other children until they left his arms.
“Water was gushing in. We tried to block the doors and it wasn't working. It was filling up and I told him don't panic. It's gonna be OK. I was leaving to go get help,” says Hall.
Hall held on to a table as long as she could until floodwaters took her away.
“I was so worried about my babies. And the whole time I held onto a tree for six and a half hours screaming that I had babies at the house that needed rescue,” says Hall.
Hall had to cling to a tree for hours.
“I thought I lost all four of them and when I finally got saved, I was searching for them because I knew he was alive. I didn't know my babies,” says Hall.
While she's grateful her other two children are alive, she says the past 48 hours have been a slow-motion nightmare.
Hall says the twins were inseparable.
“They was our life. They was so happy. They made our life complete,” says Hall.
The GoFundMe page set up by relatives has already raised more than $80,000.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.
