53 year old Nathaniel Teasley never had much. Still, his family says, what he did have he gave away. "To me, he was the best father in the world," says daughter Tiffany. She says that's one of the reasons Teasley ended up in Anderson County. He and his brother in law had agreed to take apart a mobile home off Travis Road. The property owner wanted it removed because it had become an eyesore. Teasley offered to do the job for free. He only wanted the scrap lumber, so he could sell it at a junkyard and provide for his family. "Anything he could do, he would do it," says Tiffany. "And that was for anyone. If he could do anything to help anyone, that's what he would do."
The family never imagined Teasley's huge heart would lead to tragedy. The two men were taking down the 40 year old home around 12:00 on Tuesday afternoon. That's when the property owner says the whole thing suddenly collapsed. Teasley was trapped inside, underneath 5000 pounds of wood, and never made it out. "He was able to run out toward the door, but the victim as he tried to make it to the door, he was trapped underneath the roof and the floor," says Anderson County Deputy Coroner Don McCown.
The tragedy is hard to take for Teasley's family. "It's just hard to figure out," says Teasley's niece Tisha Rucker. "How could this happen?" Tiffany Teasley says her dad was disabled, and was probably not strong enough for the job. Still, he did it anyway for the family he loved. "I worry about him a lot, cause I knew his health wasn't good. That's why I used to worry about him a lot." Now, she and others must move one, after losing a man who may not have had much, but died trying to give them a better life. "He died trying to help us."
The coroner says Teasley likely died of asphyxiation, after the pressure of the wood blocked his airway. The accident is still under investigation.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement