In the last minutes of her life, Mary Luten, who lived in Waverly, Tennessee, knocked on doors to let people know a flood was coming.
Neighbors remember Mary Luten, who they say went through the streets of Waverly, Tennessee, knocking on doors to let people know a flood was coming.
“She’s a hero. She saved our lives,” one neighbor named Daniel Cate said.
“She said it’s an emergency, and she made me understand,” Jodi Stawski, Daniel’s mother, added. “She didn’t just say it once, she made me understand, get out. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t be here. There’s no doubt.”
When she and Daniel fled from the rising waters, Jodi said she didn’t know if she would never see Mary again.
“I remember as I was getting into the car, her standing there, and she was like looking at us like, almost rooting for us to get out of here.
“And she wasn’t even worried about herself. That’s what gets me. She didn’t care. She just worried about us. That’s a true hero.”
Reports say Mary stayed behind to try to save other neighbors, but she couldn’t save herself. The 59-year-old died in the flood.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Mary’s family pay for her funeral.
