(This story has been updated)
At least eleven people were reported dead soon after severe storms tore through five southern states on Thursday and Friday. Sadly, the fatalities are rising.
In Humphreys County, Tennessee a man died in his car Friday after the top of a tree fell about 50 feet and landed on the front of the vehicle. The Sheriff’s office said there were straight-line winds of 50 to 60 mph at the time of the incident.
An elderly woman in Hendersonville, Tennessee died after a tree fell on her while she was walking with a neighbor.
A teenage girl in Gallatin, Tennessee suffered a traumatic brain injury Friday when a tree fell on her as she was helping her family clear debris after the storms. On Sunday doctors planned to take Aleya Brooks off life support. Aleya was a cheerleader at Liberty Creek High School and her father, Jason, said his daughter would have wanted to make a positive impact on others’ lives, so her organs will be donated.
The storms also killed four people in Kentucky, three in Alabama, one in Arkansas and one in Mississippi.
It was reported early Saturday that more than 650,000 homes and businesses in Tennessee and Kentucky were still without electricity.