Mom, 21, fatally electrocuted alongside boyfriend in Portland was heavily pregnant as her brother, 15, also died trying to save them from downed power line
A young mother who died after being fatally electrocuted with her brother and boyfriend was heavily pregnant at the time of her death.
21-year-old Tajaliayh Briggs and her boyfriend Nash both died after power lines fell on their car and terrified them in Portland on Wednesday.
Her 15-year-old brother, Ta’Ron Briggs, had run away to help the two and was killed after coming into contact with water carrying high-voltage electricity.
The young couple were in the car with their 9-month-old son, who miraculously survived the ordeal.
Ronald Briggs, father of Tajaliayh and Ta’Ron, shared KKG of his heartbreak after losing two of his children.
The father-of-six said: ‘It just hurts. Watching my children die, I can’t do anything about it.’
Tajaliayh Briggs, seen here, and her boyfriend Nash both died after power lines fell on their car and shocked them in Portland on Wednesday
Ta’Ron Briggs, pictured here, had fled to help the two and was killed after coming into contact with water carrying high-voltage electricity
Briggs told the outlet that his daughter, her partner and grandson came to his house after their Wi-Fi stopped working during this week’s ice storm.
As they left his home, Briggs and his wife got into their own car to go to a store when they heard a loud noise.
He explained: ‘We heard a loud boom. And my wife says, ‘Oh my God, their car is on fire.'”
βThey walked up the hill and slid back down,β he said. “My daughter tried to grab her boyfriend and her baby’s father with the baby, but his foot hit the wire.”
Briggs explained that Ta’Ron then ran outside to help the couple, saying, “I told him, ‘Don’t go there β try to get away from them.’ And he slipped, and he touched the water, and he, and he also died.β
According to the outlet, the teen was a sophomore who played football at Milwaukie High School.
Briggs said his grandson managed to stay alive in Nash’s arms and lay on top of his father.
Briggs and her boyfriend died after their feet hit the pavement as electricity flowed downward β through the car, through them and into the ground.
According to neighbor Majiah Washington, who witnessed the entire incident, the couple was loading their son into the car when tragedy struck.
Ronald Briggs, father of Tajaliayh and Ta’Ron, pictured here, told KGW about his heartbreak after losing two of his children
Electrical cables had fallen on the car of the couple who struck a downed wire and were fatally electrocuted
As footage of the scene afterwards indicated, the branch fell directly onto the vehicle
She said KOIN that another neighbor had shouted to get the baby out of the vehicle, when Nash slipped and his foot hit the fallen life.
Tajaliayh and her younger brother then also tragically hit the down supply, with Washington recalling, “It all happened so quickly.”
Washington managed to grab the couple’s child after noticing the head moving, recalling, “It’s hard to comprehend.” At that moment it seemed like everything was moving slowly.
“I just thought, I have a nephew of my own, I have little brothers, I just hope someone else would do the same, I would think someone else would do the same.”
βIf they had stayed in the vehicle, in all likelihood we might not have been having this conversation,β a stricken Portland Fire and Rescue representative Rick Graves said Wednesday.
The fire official went on to explain how firefighters responded to reports of the downed line β and man on fire β as severe winter weather continued to batter the region.
According to neighbor Majiah Washington, who witnessed the entire incident, the couple was loading their son into the vehicle when tragedy struck.
Upon arrival, they found the group of four on the ground outside the car, as well as a fallen branch that had struck a power line on the way down.
The branch, as footage from the scene showed afterward, fell directly onto the vehicle, Graves said.
βWhen the individuals’ feet hit the ground and their bodies hit the car, they became part of the active electrical circuit that resulted in their deaths,β the Portland firefighter said.
As of Wednesday, the region has recorded at least 10 weather-related deaths since the recent wild weather.
Fire officials explained how they responded to reports of the downed line and a man on fire
Multnomah County reported four deaths from hypothermia, while neighboring Washington County also blamed a resident’s death on medical conditions.
In a very similar incident that occurred early Saturday, a tree fell on an RV parked in the city, downing power lines and starting a fire.
One person died while another was injured, while a few miles away in Lake Oswego, an elderly man died after a tree fell on their home.
The three deaths on Wednesday mean a total of 10 fatalities, as fallen trees continue to wreak havoc on power lines, roads, vehicles and homes across Portland.