List of Names Puts Human Face on Joplin Toll

[Hissyspit]

Source: Reuters

List of names puts human face on Joplin toll

By Elliott Blackburn
JOPLIN, MO | Sat May 28, 2011 7:14pm EDT

JOPLIN, Mo (Reuters) - They range from one-year old Hayze Howard to 92-year-old Margaret Tuit, but the official list of 52 Joplin tornado victims does not tell their stories, or that of teenager Will Norton killed on his graduation day.

- snip -

One name on the list was 18-year-old Norton, whose tragic story sparked an outpouring of sympathy on social networks. His body was found in a debris-strewn pond that had been repeatedly checked in the first days after the tornado, his relatives said on Saturday.

Norton was driving home from his high school graduation ceremony with his father last Sunday when the tornado hit. Norton's father tried desperately to hold onto Will with both arms but the boy was sucked from the vehicle by the 200 mile-per-hour winds.

"As a dad, you don't want to let your kids go," Norton's aunt Tracey Presslor told Reuters. The teenager, who planned to study film in college, was a minor celebrity on YouTube because some of the videos he posted were so popular, Presslor said.

Read more: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE74R1JH20110528?irpc=932

[blaze]

1. Will Norton on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I-mec31khg&feature=relmfu

:cry:

[Beam Me Up]

2. I agree, blaze.

I've been following this story, the hope of so many that Will would be found alive. The incomprehensibleness of a young life so full of promise cut short so brutally, just minutes after having graduated from high school. I can't even begin to imagine the horror his father must have felt. It's all just heartbreaking, too much for words.

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[malaise]

3. Too sad

How does his dad move on from this? :cry:

[Lucky Luciano]

6. Wow. That video really hits home. RIP

[hlthe2b]

4. Lots of tragic stories, but that of Will Norton really resonated...

For days, I'd been googling for updates, hoping they might get the miracle they'd hoped for--that he had merely been transported to one of the out-of-state hospitals and hadn't yet been identified. This is such a horrific story, full of irony and unimaginable sorrow.... :cry:

Will Norton, 18, killed by tornado on way home from high school graduation

After five days of tireless searching, the family of Will Norton, 18, announced they had found their lost loved-one.

Tracey Presslor, Will’s aunt, told reporters that rescuers found Will in a pond just half a mile from his home. Will was driving home from his high school graduation at MSSU when the tornado struck. His father Mark, riding in the passenger seat, told Will to pull over. Immediately, he grabbed onto Will, but the strength of the twister pulled Will through the sunroof of his H3 Hummer and threw him across the street into a pond. Will had been reciting verses of the Bible when he was sucked out.

Mark is in the hospital with significant injuries and is being treated this week at Freeman Hospital. According to family members, his arm was severely damaged and his bicep torn from holding on so tightly to Will.
http://politicmo.com/2011/05/28/will-norton-18-killed-by-tornado-on-way-home-from-high-school-graduation/

[calimary]

7. Aw damn. Just damn. That poor kid. His poor dad!

I don't know how one would ever get over that. I remember first hearing the story and crossing my fingers for him - that they'd find him, or that he'd turn up in some hospital within 50 miles or so.

Damn.

I hope the boy didn't suffer.




Damn.

God rest his soul.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Even here over 100 miles away,

I know many who have connections to the people affected by this tragedy in Joplin.

I had a co-worker who moved to Joplin a couple years ago. It was Tuesday before any of us had heard from her. She had no electricity and no cell coverage so she was unable to contact any of her loved ones. Makes perfect sense now. But for two days we worried.

Just so sad. So many heartbreaking stories.

[Generic Other]

8. very sad...

poor kid.

:cry: