Six dead as Hurricane Irene edges into Virginia

Six people, including an 11-year-old boy and a surfer, were dead and the East Coast was a solid wall of red hurricane warnings Saturday as Hurricane Irene began lashing the Virginia coast on its way to what forecasters and authorities warned could be a catastrophic run north.
Neighbors said a woman came running out screaming, "Where's my baby?!" after high winds knocked a tree into an apartment complex Saturday afternoon in Newport News, Va. Rescue crews searched for several hours before finding the boy's body.

 

Later in the afternoon, a tree fell on a car in Brunswick County, killing an occupant, Virginia State Police Sgt. Michelle Anaya told the News & Messenger of Northern Virginia.
"This just recently occurred," Anaya said. "Troopers are still on scene and working the incident."
In Florida, the Volusia County Beach Patrol confirmed that a surfer was killed Saturday when he was knocked off his board at New Smyrna Beach, where surfers flocked to take advantage of 10-foot waves kicked up in the wake of Irene.
"It appears he went over a wave and might have gone head first into the ground," Tammy Marris, a spokeswoman stated.
Three people were also confirmed dead in North Carolina: one who died in a vehicle crash in Pitt County, a man who died after a branch fell on him in Nash County, and a man who died of a heart attack Thursday in Onslow County as he was trying to board up his home.
Another man was reported missing after he either jumped or fell into the Cape Fear River in New Hanover.