Hours after tornadoes swept through Middle Tennessee, the first of the victims are being identified. On Tuesday afternoon, the Metro Nashville Police Department confirmed that Michael Dolfini, 36, and his girlfriend, Albree Sexton, 33, as two reported casualties in East Nashville — an area that suffered a direct hit from the storm, which ripped through the area early that morning.
According to Cara Graham, Sexton’s boss at Lockeland Table, Dolfini and Albree had just left Attaboy lounge in East Nashville, where Dolfini worked, when the tornado touched down. They had been attempting to run to the safety of their vehicle when they were struck by debris and killed.
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“I have never had someone walk into our restaurant home and become more ingrained in our fabric,” Graham told The New York Times. “She was amazing. She fit right in and was so kind.”
Sexton and Dolfini are among the two dozen people that were killed when the tornadoes swept through Middle Tennessee and two of the three casualties reported out of Davidson County. On Tuesday night, authorities revised the death toll from 25 to 24 after it was determined that one death was not storm-related.
Of those fatalities, three were killed in Wilson County, with Mount Juliet Police confirming Tuesday evening the deaths of James Eaton, 84, Donna Eaton, 81, and Brandy Barker, 38.
Carle Frazee, 67, was killed in Benton County when a tornado picked up his mobile home and pushed it across Bethel Chapel Road. A second person in the mobile home survived.
The remainder of the deaths occurred in Putnam County, where authorities have confirmed that several children are among the 18 reported fatalities. By Tuesday morning, an additional 35 people remained missing, with officials releasing a list of their names. Nearly 90 others have been injured, including some who are suffering from critical injuries.
#LATEST: It appears the list of missing people in Putnam County is now somewhere around *35*. Officials have NOT said if the ones removed from the list were found safe, but we expect an update later this morning. If your name is on this list, call (931) 646-4636. @WKRN pic.twitter.com/Buk0sSabnr
— Josh Breslow (@JoshBreslowWKRN) March 4, 2020
Preliminary reports indicate the Nashville tornado was a level EF-3, the fourth highest on the six-level Fujita Scale, meaning that it had winds of about 160 mph.
“Survey results so far: Mount Juliet (Wilson), at least EF-3 damage (155-160 mph). Donelson (Davidson), at least EF-3 damage (160-165 mph). This is just damage observed in these neighborhoods and it might possibly be the same tornado”” National Weather Service Nashville said, according to Fox13 Memphis.
The National Weather Service confirmed two EF-2 tornadoes farther west in Benton and Carroll counties.
