Alabama tornadoes: Fund set up to help Deer Park family

deer-park-alabama-tornado.jpgView full sizeFriends and family try to salvage belongings from the rubble of the Box family's mobile home Saturday, April 16, 2011, in Deer Park, Alabama. Three people in the Box family died during Friday night's severe storms, when a tornado lifted the double-wide mobile home several feet into the air and slammed it into an oak tree 100 yards away. (Press-Register/Mike Kittrell)

MOBILE, Alabama -- Three people injured in a tornado that heavily damaged the Deer Park community remained at the University of South Alabama Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said today.

Greg Box was listed in fair condition, while his 17-year-old daughter, Taylor Box, was listed in critical condition, a hospital spokesman said. A friend, Shelby Driver, 17, was listed in serious condition, officials said.

“Taylor was taken off the respirator, and she seems to doing very well,” Washington County Sheriff Richard Stringer said Monday.

Officials with the National Weather Service in Mobile said they determined that an EF-3 tornado struck the Deer Park area between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday, said Kirk Caceres, a meteorologist with the Weather Service.

On the Enhanced Fujita scale, the tornado that touched down in Deer Park had winds speeds between 136 and 165 mph, according the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website. The scale goes up to EF-5, which has winds up to 200 mph, according to the website.

That tornado was part of the same system that killed 1 person in Leakesville, Miss., in Greene County.

Three members of the Box family were killed: Jean Box and 2 of her children, Sheldon, 14, and Hunter, 11.

Another Box child, Hunter’s twin sister, Haley, was at a friend’s house and wasn’t at home when the tornado struck.

Washington County officials have set up a fund to pay for the funerals of the Box family members, Stringer said. Donations can be made at any branch of First Community Bank, Stringer said. A bank official said checks can be made payable to “Benefit of Box Family” or “Box Family Benefit.”

A total of 7 people were killed in Alabama, officials said. In all, 44 people were killed in storms that battered their way from Oklahoma to North Carolina between Thursday and Saturday.

Stringer said that authorities continued to assess the damage Monday. Stringer said workers will be distributing clothing and food today to those in the storm-stricken area.

Stringer said he received permission from the Alabama Ethics Commission to allow non-violent jail inmates to help with debris removal, especially in the areas around the homes of elderly residents, “the less fortunate and the ones that don’t have any insurance,” he said. The inmates will be under the supervision of an armed deputy, Stringer said.

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