Spring storms kill 17, destroy family in Alabama

Vicious weather claims at least 17 lives and has a devastating impact on one Alabama family.

BOONE'S CHAPEL, Ala. – The home Willard Hollon had shared with his son and granddaughters is gone now, as is the one where his daughter lived, both twisted from their foundations by a tornado and tossed into the woods nearby. The storms that devastated the Deep South destroyed his family, too: Willard, his son Steve and daughter Cheryl all were killed when the winds roared through.
The storms that smacked the Midwest and South with howling winds and pounding rain left 17 people dead in four states. The system plowed through the Carolinas on Saturday, bringing flash floods, hail and reports of tornadoes.
A tornado collapsed a church with six people inside near the South Carolina coast, but there was no immediate word on injuries, said Melinda Wadford with the St. Stephen Fire Department auxiliary. In North Carolina, emergency crews had to scramble to rescue hikers. They were also working to clear trees from roads and survey damage.