AVERY COUNTY, N.C. (WRAL) – A heartbroken North Carolina man says his life will never by the same after his wife died in a mudslide triggered by Hurricane Helene.
Like many in western North Carolina, Jamie Guinn’s world was flipped upside down by Hurricane Helene. He lost his house and was hospitalized with a fractured back and a laceration to his head, but worst of all, his heart is broken because his wife, Melissa Guinn, died during the storm.
“Within an hour, my entire life changed for the rest of my life,” Jamie Guinn said. “I guess definitely love who you got because you really don’t know when they’re gone.”
The father of four says he, his wife and their 8-year-old son were sheltering last Friday during Helene when they heard a large “boom” sound outside. He went to check it out and saw a mudslide hit the back of his house.
About 40 minutes later, another mudslide knocked the home off a cliff and into the river below.
“I just remember being crushed by the house falling all around me, and I can remember thinking in my head, ‘I guess this is how I’m going to die,’” Jamie Guinn said.
But he survived and was able to free himself. After that, he says he could hear Melissa Guinn screaming from where the house originally was.
“I could hear my wife. All I can remember is her screaming, ‘Babe, watch out!’” he said.
It was just enough warning for him to grab his son and get him over to a riverbank before another mudslide. But by the time he and his son were safe, he couldn’t hear his wife anymore. He believes a mudslide knocked her into the river.
“When I got right behind my little boy, I started screaming for my wife because I couldn’t hear her anymore. Then, he turned and looked at me and said, ‘Daddy, I think Mommy’s gone,’” Jamie Guinn said.
The father and son eventually made it to a neighbor’s house, where they were able to get help.
Despite his injuries, Jamie Guinn says no pain is worse to him than losing his wife. The couple were just weeks away from celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.
“I don’t think I still even comprehended it,” he said. “Part of me feels like I’m still in a state of shock and understanding everything that happened. I think I’m just making myself realize everything that did happen.”
Jamie Guinn says he will remember Melissa Guinn as a good wife and mother to their sons. He was released from the hospital Saturday night and reunited with his kids. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family recover.
Helene is to blame for at least 230 deaths, nearly half of which were in North Carolina. Authorities fear that toll could still rise.
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