Most of the 15 people who died as a result of the powerful tornado that hit Bowling Green early Saturday were from two families who lived along one street.
Of the 15 who died, 11 were from the same street and seven of those were children, according to a list released Monday by Warren County Coroner Kevin Kirby.
“Our community took a hard hit,” Kirby said. The dead included Rachel Brown, 36; Steven Brown, 35; Nariah Cayshelle Brown, 16; Nyles Brown, 4; and Nolynn Brown, a child whose age was not provided. They were all family, Kirby said.
Steven Brown had posted on his Facebook page that he and Rachel had been married 10 years, and that she was his “best friend and true love.”
A woman named Dornicho Jackson McGee, who said Rachel Brown was her niece, said on Facebook that another victim, 64-year-old Victoria Smith, was Brown’s mother. Brown’s first name is spelled Rachael on social media, but the spelling was listed differently by the Warren County coroner.
“This is absolutely devastating,” McGee said. “They are all resting in the arms of Jesus.”
Several members of a Bosnian family also were killed. They were Alisa Besic, an adult; children Selmir Besic and Elma Besic, whose ages were not given; and Samantha and Alma Besic, who were infants.
Bowling Green has developed a large immigrant community with the help of the International Center of Kentucky, a refugee resettlement agency in town.
The Browns, the Besics and Smith all lived on Moss Creek Avenue, which is off Russellville Road. The coroner’s release noted that they were found near their residences.
(Photo of tornado damage in Bowling Green courtesy of the Lexington Herald-Leader)
By Bill Estep, Monica Kast and Valarie Honeycutt Spears, Lexington Herald-Leader
