Donna Fagersten had taken refuge at a friend’s home on the top floor as Hurricane Helene tore through northern Florida, leaving a devastating trail of destruction and more than 100 casualties in the southeastern U.S.
As the storm appeared to calm, the 66-year-old teacher, just days away from her retirement, made a fateful choice to return home to rescue her cat.
When Hurricane Helene hit Florida on September 26, 2024, around 11 p.m., the Category 4 storm triggered flash floods, forcing residents to scramble for safety. One of the hardest-hit areas was Pinellas County, particularly in the Tampa Bay region, where at least 11 people lost their lives.
Among the victims was Donna Fagersten, a second-grade teacher from Ponce De Leon Elementary in Pinellas County.
According to her best friend Heather Anne Boles, Donna was set to retire the following week after dedicating 35 years to teaching. When the storm hit, Donna sought shelter with Boles and her partner, Mike Moran. As the storm surge rushed in, they retreated to the third floor of Boles’ mother’s home, across from the beach where Donna lived.
Boles recalled that as the storm seemed to settle, Donna insisted on going home to check on her cat, despite Boles’ pleas to stay. Tragically, another surge and high winds returned, battering the coastline.
A neighbor later came to their shelter, reporting that someone had been found floating in the parking garage. They quickly pulled Donna from the water and began CPR, but despite their efforts and the arrival of fire rescue by boat, they were unable to revive her.
Detectives later confirmed that Donna had drowned in her home, which had been flooded with water.
Family and friends have since remembered Donna as a “beautiful person” who was deeply committed to her students and community. In a Facebook post, Mary Gleason Lyons, a colleague and friend, described Donna as a dedicated teacher with a big heart, touching the lives of many students over her 35-year career.
Online tributes poured in, with former students and friends expressing their sadness at her passing and remembering her kindness and warmth.
While Boles and Moran are now left to clean up after the floods, which destroyed most of their belongings, the loss of their best friend is what hurts the most. “This is the worst we have ever seen,” Boles said, reflecting on the storm’s destruction compared to Hurricane Irma, where they managed to keep their home and belongings intact.
On a positive note, Donna’s cat survived, and her friends are working to find him a new home.
Hurricane Helene, which cut a destructive 800-mile path northward, left more than 2 million homes without power and claimed over 100 lives, according to USA Today.
Tesla Driver Reveals Jaw-Dropping Electric Bill After 12 Months: Shocked Reactions Pour In
People can’t believe how much it cost him in electricity to run his Tesla for a whoIe year. It wouldn’t be silly to think that the costs of running a Tesla might be slightly extortionate when taking a look at how much the cars cost in the first place. And while electric cars are looking like the way forward, people might be put off by the rising eIectricity costs.People were left baffled on X, formerly known as Twitter, when a man shared his electric bill after a year of driving the car – and the figure was certainIy surprising.We all know that petrol and diesel are definitely not the cheapest ways to get around, but how much does it really cost to run one of Elon Musk’s motors? The man captioned the post: “First time I have had a bill within the last 12 months. “This sucks.”
He was writing sarcastically, of course, after seeing that his electricity bill was actually in single digits. After a year? You did read that right. The balance due was just $2.37 (£1.89)– rather than the hundreds of dollars you might assume it costs to charge your car regularly over a month.
But how on earth did it only cost so little?
Well, upon taking a closer look, it appears it’s still a pretty expensive process.The user’s cover photo displays a Tesla Powerwall, which is a huge battery that loops into your home’s power and is really handy to have if you have got solar panels.
It means that the solar panels which power your house, also store excess charge in your Powerwall, which charges your car. But these don’t come at a small cost, as you may have presumed. The Powerwalls start at around $11,500 (£9,000), but can range up to $15,000 (£11,800), according to Forbes.
If you plan to keep your Tesla for a number of years, which evens this figure out a bit, maybe there’s a case for it working out in the long-run to be borderline cost effective.
That’s if someone could hand us nine grand, please?
People joked in the comments about the Tesla owner’s sarcastic post, one said: “Damn my dude post a GoFundMe the community will rally around you I’m sure.”
Another said: “That’s horrible.
“My condolences.”
Tesla went viraI again this year after releasing their latest creation: the Cybertruck.
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