'The coroner had to pull them apart': Grandparents killed in Hurricane Helene found hugging in bed

Under the cover of night on Sept. 27, high winds and hard rain stirred Jerry and Marcia Savage from slumber inside their one-story Beech Island home.

It also rattled their 22-year-old grandson in the living room where he had been keeping watch on the inland South Carolina home where the couple had lived since 1975.

The storm was moving in.

About 4 a.m., he ran to his grandparents' room where they were in bed with their small dog to check on them, the couple's daughter, Tammy Estep of Aiken County, told USA TODAY. They were shaken, but alive.

Little did anyone know, about an hour after they reportedly fell back to sleep, a tree would crash through the roof of their home, killing the seniors in bed.

"My daddy was on top of my mama hugging her trying to protect her," Estep, 54, said Thursday. "The coroner had to pull them apart."

The couple, whose North Augusta home is not far from the Georgia state line, are among the dead after Hurricane Helene ripped through the Southeastern U.S. last week, leaving death, destruction and chaos in its wake.

According to a USA TODAY Network analysis, the number of confirmed deaths in the region crossed the 200 threshold when North Carolina officials said Thursday the state's tally has risen to 97. In addition, South Carolina has reported 41 fatalities, Georgia 33, Florida 19, Tennessee 11 and Virginia two for a total of 203.

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'The biggest bang of their life'

On the morning the storm hit, Estep said she was at home with her husband about eight miles north in the city's Clearwater neighborhood of North Augusta.

"We had a tree fall in front of our house but it blocked us in so we couldn't get over there right away," Estep recalled.

About 9:30 a.m., they made it south.

"They were all in the house asleep - woke up about 4 a.m. and about 5:20 a.m. they heard the biggest bang of their life ," Estep said. "That's when the tree fell."

Her nephew, John Savage, said he couldn't get from the living room into the bedroom to check on them again. The door was blocked.

He would not learn of their deaths until first-responders arrived.

Firefighters arrived and about 11:40 a.m., Estep recalled, and an official from the coroner's office responded to the scene to declare the couple dead.

The family, she said, also found her parents' dog, 2-year old a Chow Chow mix named Angel, dead in bed with the couple.

"My grandfather apparently heard the tree snap before hand and rolled over to try and protect my grandmother," Savage said.

Aikens County Coroner Darryl M. Ables confirmed the couple's deaths to USA TODAY Thursday. Ables did not release their official causes of death but confirmed an autopsy found their manner of deaths to be accidental.

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Fundraiser created to help family with funeral expenses

The couple's home, Estep said, is a total loss.

The family has no plans to rebuild.

They plan to bury their parents Saturday.

According to a fundraiser created to help the family with funeral expenses, the couple were "taken too soon."

"Jerry and Marcia were two of the kindest and most generous people I've ever known," Brittany Estep, their daughter-in-law wrote in the fundraiser she organized.

As of Thursday, more than 65 people had donated nearly $3,900 to help the family.

'They were born the same day... and they died the same day'

Estep said her parents were high school sweethearts and had been married for 50 years at death.

Jerry Savage, 78, was born in Augusta, Georgia to the late William and Frances Savage, the couple's obituary reads, and his wife, 74, was born in LaFayette, Georgia to the late Wallace and Geneva Webb.

"They were born the same day (Jan. 22) a few years apart and they died the same day," Estep said. "That's how we are looking at it. God's plan."

She said her father, a builder and electrician, enjoyed oil painting and loved cars and motorcycles, especially Harley Davidsons. His wife retired from a career in banking.

"My mama was involved heavily in the church and her grandbabies were her life," Estep said. "She lived for her family and took care of us. Our homemaker. That was her joy. Her love."

Both parents attended Second Baptist Church Beech Island, their daughter said, and loved the Lord.

"I know where they are at (today)," Estep said Thursday, a slight chuckle in her voice. "That's for sure."

In addition to their daughter and grandson, the couple is survived by their son, Mark Savage; son-in-law Darrell Estep, grandchildren, Chris Estep (Brittany), Brandon Estep (Jennifer), and Katherine Savage; and seven great-grandchildren.

A funeral service for the couple is set Saturday at Pineview Memorial Gardens in North Augusta, South Carolina.

Contributing: Dinah Pulver

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.