Student texts his heartbreaking last words during devastating tornado

It’s shocking, and in this case heartbreaking, the things we are able to do because of technology.

University of Central Arkansas senior Jeffrey Hunter, was hiding in a bathroom during a tornado that was heading straight for him. He knew he wasn’t going to make it through the disaster so he texted his mom his last words.

“First he said, ‘Mama, I’m so scared,” Hunter’s mother, Regina Wood told KFTA. “He knew how bad it was, these say it’s going to be a direct hit.”

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Wood, who was 20 miles away at her home in Beebe, continued to update her son via text on the status and location of the EF-4 tornado. She reassured him that he would be OK.

The unfortunate truth is that he wouldn’t be.

Hunter sent two final texts to his mother before he died: “Goodbye mama …” and “It’s heading right for me.”

After the tornado hit, Hunter’s father Lyman Watkins crawled out from the closet that he was hiding in with his wife and five dogs a few houses down.

“All you could hear was horns going off and people hollering help, help,” Watkins said. He crawled out of the rubble and found Hunter lying unconscious on the ground.

“I kept saying, ‘Are you okay? Are you okay? Let me know. Let me know.’ No answer,” Wood said, recalling the texts she had sent him. No response. Hunter had not survived.

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Flags were put up for each of the victims killed by the tornado that day, including Hunter.

Despite the loss of her only son, Regina is comforted by the thought that in the last moments of his life, Hunter texted her to say he loved her and goodbye. “That was the most precious thing a son could do for a mother,” Wood said through tears.

It’s been argued that cell phones are taking over our lives, but in a case like this one, it’s heartwarming to know that we live in a time when communication with others is at our fingertips … even if it is our last words.

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