A 39-year-old woman in Tennessee died Sunday morning while attempting to rescue her son from high flood waters, according to officials. Mary Evelyn Nicole Manning-Kellione's death is among at least five reported fatalities from flooding in the region encompassing Tennessee and Kentucky.
Details of the Rescue Attempt
Manning-Kellione saw her son swept into a culvert and entered the water to save him. Her son was carried through the culvert and emerged safely on the other side, but Manning-Kellione became trapped and drowned, the Grainger County Sheriff's Office reported.
"The son was able to surface at the other end and came to safety when he realized his mother was in the water," the sheriff's office stated. "Rescue personnel located the individual lodged inside the culvert."
A Facebook post described Manning-Kellione as "a real-life super mom," noting that her son only realized afterward that his mother had entered the water for him and never emerged. "Mary is the tragic and perfect example of the absolute superhuman lengths a mother will go to for her children," the post read.
Flooding Across Kentucky and Tennessee
Manning-Kellione's death occurred after intense rainfall triggered flash flood warnings in the area. At least four people died in Kentucky. Three fatalities were in Madison County, where the coroner reported two deaths at a residence in Richmond—a man and a woman—and a third man who was swept away in his vehicle. The fourth Kentucky death occurred in Jackson County.
Kentucky authorities were also investigating an additional death from Saturday night in Hardin County, where a car crashed into a flooded creek amid heavy rainfall. Emergency responders pulled two minors and an adult driver from the vehicle, according to WDRB. One minor was pronounced dead at a hospital Sunday; the driver was booked on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Severe Weather Warnings and Government Response
The National Weather Service (NWS) upgraded the flood threat for parts of Kentucky and Tennessee to level three out of four on Sunday, described as "moderate risk." Meteorologists warned of rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour, with daily totals up to 5 inches in some areas.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear provided an update Sunday afternoon, stating that nine counties had declared states of emergency. Some areas "got hit with record or almost record amounts of rain in very short periods of time," he said. Beshear urged residents to stay off roads, noting that "bridges have been wiped out, entire roads have been wiped away and there is still standing and moving water." He warned businesses against price-gouging and signed an order allowing pharmacies in affected areas to refill prescriptions that were washed away or unsafe.
Beshear asked the public to join him and his wife in praying for affected families during "this difficult time."
