Four members of a Louisiana family were killed when a generator leaked carbon monoxide into their home, hours after they survived Hurricane Laura’s deadly winds and storm surge. A fifth family member died days later.
Rosalie Lewis, 81, decided to shelter with her husband and three other relatives in her Lake Charles home as the Category 4 storm battered the coast in the early hours of Aug. 27, bringing 150 mph winds and a storm surge as high as 15 feet.
The family was unable to evacuate because of health conditions that made travel difficult, The Advocate quoted family members as saying this week.
The home, which had also withstood Hurricane Rita in 2005, suffered little damage and Rosalie Lewis and her family survived Laura.
But emergency crews arrived after the storm passed to find her; her daughter, Kim Evans, 56; her son-in-law, Chris Evans, 61; and her brother, Clyde Handy, 72, dead. A generator placed in the garage filled the home with carbon monoxide during the night, according to authorities and relatives.
Rosalie Lewis’ husband, John Lewis Sr., 84, was taken to a hospital in critical condition and was on life support for several days after the death of his family members, relatives said. On Wednesday, his granddaughter Ebony Lewis-Broussard said her grandfather passed away.
Lewis-Broussard, talked about the impact her grandmother had on many in Lake Charles in a Facebook post last week. Lewis was the black female postal worker in the state.
“My Maw Maw was THE Red Rose of Louisiana. The first black mail lady in Louisiana. She taught me so so many things and I credit a lot of the wisdom and strength I have from her. I have sooo many vivid memories with her that I'll never ever forget. She knew how to light up a room and lived a full life, full of love. I'll never forget her sassy phrases, my favorite one being 'I might be old, but I'm not too old to throw.' She was so amazing aand truly impacted our community in Lake Charles in a phenomenal way."
Lewis-Broussard goes on to talk about her “bold” aunt Kim Evans, her uncle Chris Evans and her uncle Clyde Handy, who was one of the “sweetest souls” she’d ever known.
They had left the garage door open for ventilation, but winds from the storm likely blew it closed, allowing the poisonous gas to seep into the home, Rosalie’s son, Lyle Lewis, 55, told The Daily Advertiser.
“They made it through the storm and there was a freak accident,” relative Patrick Perry told The Advocate this week.
Twenty-two deaths in Texas and Louisiana have been attributed to the storm, and nearly half were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning from the unsafe operation of generators, according to authorities.
Rosalie Lewis was a well-known member of her Lake Charles neighborhood and had served as the first Black female postal service supervisor in southwest Louisiana, family members told news outlets. John Lewis Sr. drove trucks for 40 years and Kim Lewis Evans and her husband Chris Evans had been married for 30 years and often cared for her parents. Handy was remembered by relatives as a loving uncle and father figure, The Daily Advertiser said.
A joint funeral service for the family members is set for Sept. 12.
Lewis-Broussard has set up a GoFundMe page on behalf of the family that has raised more than $2,400 of its $5,000 goal toward burial and funeral costs. On her Facebook page, she advised her friends to spend extra time with their loved ones and savor that quality time.
“Please just take the time to check on your loved ones and spend that little extra quality time. Return the calls back ASAP, let go of petty drama, go to the family gathering you dread, take lots of pictures/videos, spend time with the elderly, say I love you after each talk — don’t wait for a hospital visit, holiday, funeral, birthday, or a once-in-a-year event to catch up.”
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