Alabama family tried to use a mattress to protect themselves from tornado — then they started ‘flipping, flipping, flipping’

March 05-- Mar. 5--Vicki Braswell had just turned on the TV to keep up with the latest news about the approaching tornado when her grandson rushed through the front door.

Payton, 16, had been outside with his friend Jordan in Beauregard, Ala., when they spotted it.

"We see it. It's huge," Payton said, according to Christy Norris, a friend who was granted permission to speak on behalf of the family.

Braswell, along with her daughter Remy, granddaughter McKenzie and son-in-law Steve, quickly took shelter in the hallway. They hid under a mattress as the tornado approached. Payton and Jordan got down nearby.

"Then they just started flipping, flipping, flipping," Norris told the Daily News Tuesday.

Braswell was killed in the disaster -- one of its 23 victims.

Norris, who was not in the mobile home when the tornado hit, has been spending time with Remy at the hospital and learning of the grandmother's last moments.

Norris said when the flipping ended, Remy slowly came to. She frantically searched for her 14-year-old daughter and husband, who were injured but alive.

She did not see her mother.

It was only until Steve began "digging through" the debris, they spotted Braswell. She was pinned under a beam and barely breathing.

The next few minutes unfolded quickly, according to Norris: Steve tried performing CPR, but soon remembered a second tornado was expected. Norris said the family wanted to do as much as they could for Braswell.

"But they were obviously trying to help the people that were still alive," she added, before trailing off.

Braswell died as the family was figuring out what to do.

"She was not alive when they left," Norris said.

Remy declined to speak to the Daily News. She is recovering from a fracture in her face and broken shoulder with Steve by her side, Norris said. McKenzie suffered a broken collarbone and has been staying with an aunt since the tragedy unfolded.

Payton and Jordan, who were thrown from the house and landed outside, suffered minor injuries.

The family is one of many devastated by the tornado that ripped through Lee County. All 23 victims have been identified, including three children who were 6, 9 and 10. The bodies were sent to funeral homes.

Officials said they expected the death toll to rise in the coming days as search and rescue teams searched through debris. Sheriff Jay Jones said those missing has gone from dozens to seven or eight.

He called the disaster the worst he'd ever seen in his 21 years.

"It looks almost as if someone took a giant knife and just scraped the ground. There are slabs where homes formerly stood, debris everywhere, trees are snapped," he added.

President Trump offered federal assistance and his condolences to those affected.

"You look at the areas affected and probably nobody made it out of that path, that path was brutal," he said Monday. "To the community of Lee County, we grieve by your side and we pledge our unwavering support to help you rebuild from the very depths of this horrible tragedy."

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