Hurricane Helene: Couple found dead hugging each other in bed after hurricane
A couple killed when Hurricane Helene hit the US last week were found hugging each other in bed, their grandson has said.
Jerry Savage, 78, and his wife Marcia, 74, were sheltering with family members at their home in Beech Island, South Carolina, while winds of up to 140mph (225kmh) roared outside.
One of their grandchildren, 22-year-old John Savage, heard branches snap and went to the couple’s bedroom to ensure they were okay.
A man working to recover his belongings from his home after Hurricane Helene passed through the Florida panhandle. Pic: Reuters
Debris being cleared from a badly damaged bridge in Barnardsville, North Carolina. Pic: Reuters
“They were both fine, the dog was fine,” he said of the couple, who were lying in bed.
But Mr Savage and his father heard a “boom” a short time later when one of the biggest trees on their property crashed on top of his grandparents’ bedroom and killed them.
“All you could see was ceiling and tree. I was just going through sheer panic at that point,” he said.
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Aftermath of deadly Hurricane Helene
Mr Savage said the family believed it was “God’s plan” for them to die together, rather than one suffer without the other.
“When they pulled them out of there, my grandpa apparently heard the tree snap beforehand and rolled over to try and protect my grandmother,” he said.
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Described as a “doer”, Jerry was an electrician and a carpenter, while Marcia was a retired bank teller who was active in her church.
The two were teenage sweethearts and married for over 50 years. Their daughter Tammy Estep said their love was “immediate, and it was everlasting”.
A large oak lies on a home in South Carolina after Hurricane Helene. Pic: Reuters
Flood damage along the Pigeon River left by Hurricane Helene, in Tennessee. Pic: AP
“They loved each other to their dying day,” Mr Savage said.
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Jerry and Marcia are among more than 150 victims confirmed to have died in Hurricane Helene – one of the deadliest storms in US history.
Dozens died when trees fell on their homes or cars, including two South Carolina firefighters killed when a tree fell on their truck.
The hurricane hit multiple states, flooding homes, causing mudslides and wiping out phone networks.
Elon Musk has stepped up his attacks on Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill – weeks after a spectacular fallout between the world’s richest man and the US president.
Following weeks of relative silence after clashing with Mr Trump over his “big beautiful bill”, the billionaire vowed to unseat politicians who support it.
In a post on X, Musk said those who had campaigned on cutting spending but then backed the bill “should hang their heads in shame”.
He added: “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
Musk also threatened to put their faces on a poster which said “liar” and “voted to increase America’s debt” by $5trn (£3.6trn).
The posts attracted a swift reply from Mr Trump, who claimed the billionaire “may get more subsidy than any human being in history” for his electric car business.
“Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
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Musk spent at least $250m (£182m) supporting Mr Trump in his presidential campaign and then led the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which sacked about 120,000 federal employees.
He has argued the legislation would greatly increase the US national debt and wipe out the savings he claimed he achieved through DOGE.
As the Senate discussed the package, Musk called it “utterly insane and destructive”.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said the bill’s massive spending indicated “we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!”
“Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,” he wrote.
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Musk previously said some of his social media posts during his dramatic fallout with Mr Trump “went too far”.
He had shared a series of posts on X, including one that described Mr Trump’s tax and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination”.
He also claimed, in a since-deleted post, that the president appeared in files relating to the disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
But Musk later wrote: “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
In response, the president told the New York Post: “I thought it was very nice that he did that.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
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