A Texas mother recounted the devastating moment she tried to rescue her three young sons who died after falling through an icy pond during a brutal winter storm.
Cheyenne Hangaman told local TV station Fox4 she “just couldn’t save” the boys — ages 6, 8, and 9 — who had wandered onto a frozen pond behind a friend's house in Fannin County, located near the Oklahoma border, on Monday. She was alerted to the accident by the boys’ sister, who rushed to find help.
“I start running towards the pond and I jump in and I try to save them — also trying to keep myself alive because the water is freezing,” Hangaman told FOX 4. “As soon as I jump in, I like locked up.”
“I couldn’t really hardly do anything,” Hangaman said. “It was just one of me and three of them. And they were all needing me at one time and I couldn’t — I just couldn’t save them.”
Hangaman said she had warned her boys to stay away from the pond, but her youngest ventured onto the ice anyway and fell through. His brothers ran to save him — and plunged in after him.
“That’s how they all ended up in there,” she said.
Hangaman said that a nearby man — the head football coach at Bonham High School — heard the chaos, raced to the scene and threw her a rope to pull her to safety.
Multiple agencies in the surrounding area also responded, according to a news release from the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office.
With a neighbor's help, first responders pulled the two eldest boys from the frigid water, provided medical aid and rushed them to a hospital by ambulance. The youngest was recovered after an extensive pond search.
“All three children have been pronounced deceased,” the release said.
Through tears, Hangaman shared heartfelt memories of her boys' vibrant personalities and favorite passions.
“My oldest one, EJ, didn't care about nothing but football and getting his haircut,” she said. “Caleb’s personality was out of this world. He was the sweetest soul I ever met. And Howard, he was just goofy. He liked to liven the party. He was hard-headed.”
A FOX 4 anchor said that Hangaman shared her tragic experience in the hopes that other parents would heed the perils of the icy conditions. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover the funeral costs. It has raised over $60,000 as of Tuesday evening.
The drownings happened amidst winter storm Fern, which battered much of the U.S., which caused over two dozen deaths and left thousands without power.
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