Mom of 1-Month-Old Twins Didn’t Think They Could Evacuate. All 3 Were Killed in Hurricane Helene: ‘Devastating'

Mar. 15, 2025

Kobe Williams, and her twin sons Khazmir Williams and Khyzier Williams.Photo:Gofundme

Gofundme

A Georgia mother and her newborn twin boys were killed after a large tree fell on their trailer home duringHurricane Helene, according to family members.

“I’d seen pictures when they were born and pictures every day since, but I hadn’t made it out there yet to meet them,” Obie Williams told theAssociated Pressof his daughter Kobe, 27, and her two infant boys, Khyzier and Khazmir. “Now I’ll never get to meet my grandsons. It’s devastating,”

Born just over a month ago on Aug. 20, Khyzier and Khazmir are the youngest known victims of the devastating hurricane, which is responsible forat least 220 deathsacross six states, the AP reported.

Williams told the AP that his daughter, a single mom, didn’t think she would be able to evacuate with her newborns. When she called him last week, fearing for her safety, he advised that they shelter in the bathroom of their trailer home in Thomson until the storm subsided.

In an interview withToday, Mary Jones — Kobe’s mother, who was also in the trailer home during the incident on Sept. 27 — said that around 5:00 a.m., she was feeding one of the twin boys so that Kobe could rest. Afterwards, Jones said that she went to rest while her daughter took over.

“I started screaming, ‘Kobe! Answer me! Please answer me!’ It was so dark and I couldn’t see anything except branches,” Jones recalled.

At first, neighbors who came in after hearing Jones’ cries, but they couldn’t find the mother and the twins with their flashlights. Police later confirmed their deaths, and Jones remembered one officer telling her, “Don’t go in there.”

Jones’ granddaughter, Markeya Jones, said that Kobe was holding the babies and trying to protect them when the tree fell on the mother’s head, perToday.

AGoFundMewas established to help Kobe’s family and pay for funeral expenses.

In a message to PEOPLE, the McDuffie County Coroner’s Office confirmed that the victims died on Sept. 27.

PEOPLE also contacted the Thomson Police Department and Markeya Jones for additional information.

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In addition to the young twins, Helene also claimed other young lives including Harmony and Derrick Taylor, 7 and 4 respectively, who died when atree fell through their Georgia home.

Luna Jade Gaddis, a 4-year-old girl, was also killed in North Carolina after her family’s car collided with another vehicle during heavy rain, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol toldNBC NewsandThe Charlotte Observer.

Meanwhile,USA Today’s outage trackerreported about 757,000 homes and businesses still remain without power since the storm as of Oct. 4.

To learn more about how to help with relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts from Hurricane Helene,click here.

source: people.com