BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — With hurricane-force winds and unrelenting snow, the recent blizzard crippled much of Western New York.
"Christmas is supposed to be happy," said Violeta Quinones.
Instead the historic storm brought tragedy to more than two dozen families including Quinones and her two children.
Her partner, 55-year-old Henry Tellado, went out to shovel Saturday, December 24. Quinones said he had asthma and was not feeling well, so after 20 minutes she told him to come back inside.
"He went to the bathroom and that’s when he collapsed," Quinones said.
She called 911, but at that point emergency crews were not available in Buffalo.
"I called police, I called National Guard, I called everybody to help me. Nobody showed up," she said.
Her neighbor, a nurse, did her best to save Henry but he sadly passed away.
To make matters worse, first responders could not remove his body until two days later.
There are currently 35 blizzard-related confirmed deaths.
