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Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12

‘Don’t touch me. I’m dying.’ Harrowing Harvey stories emerge [photos, interactives]

Family members react as a van is pulled out of the Greens Bayou with the bodies of six family members on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, in Houston. The van was carried into the bayou during Tropical Storm Harvey as the water went over the bridge. ( Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Family members react as a van is pulled out of the Greens Bayou with the bodies of six family members on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, in Houston. The van was carried into the bayou during Tropical Storm Harvey as the water went over the bridge. ( Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP) Family members react as a van is pulled out of the Greens Bayou with the bodies of six family members on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, in Houston. The van was carried into the bayou during Tropical Storm Harvey as the water went over the bridge. ( Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

One man used his last words to save a friend’s life, warning him away from a live electrical wire. Another died checking on his uncle. Several others were last seen helping people out of floodwaters.

They’re among Harvey victims who lost their lives trying to save other people. Others died doing their best to survive the catastrophic disaster.

They range from 6 years old to 89. Their stories are emerging as the death toll from the storm continues to mount.

Twenty-five-year-old Andrew Pasek was on a mission to check on his beloved older sister’s cat when he stepped on a live electrical wire in ankle-deep water Tuesday, his parents said through sobs Thursday.