A 67 year-old amputee father was killed in the LA wildfires after staying behind to wait for an ambulance for his disabled son, who also died.
Anthony Mitchell was found by the side of his son Justin, who was in his early 20s and suffered cerebral palsy, in Altadena, California, after his family said he tried to protect them both.
‘They didn’t make it out,’ Mitchell’s daughter Hajime White told the Washington Post.
White said her father called her on Wednesday morning to tell her he and her half-brother Justin were evacuating due to the advancing fires.
‘Then he said, ‘I’ve got to go — the fire’s in the yard,’ she recalled, saying it was the last time she heard his voice.
‘He was not going to leave his son behind, no matter what,’ she added. ‘It’s very hard. It’s like a ton of bricks just fell on me.’
White said her father was a retired salesman and amputee who used a wheelchair, and said he was a loving family man dedicated to his four children, 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
It comes as the death toll from the Los Angeles fires doubled to 10 overnight as officials warned the true devastation will take time to be uncovered.
Anthony Mitchell, 67, (pictured) was found by the side of his son Justin, who was in his early 20s and suffered cerebral palsy, in Altadena, California, as his family said he ‘was not going to leave his son behind, no matter what’
Mitchell’s daughter Hajime White said she spoke to her father on the phone as the fires approached his home, and after his tragic passing she said it felt ‘like a ton of bricks just fell on me’
Los Angles authorities said late Thursday night that the official death toll doubled to 10, but warned that the true death count was ‘expected to rise’
