Elderly Couple Dies Holding Hands After Car Accident in WA (VIDEO)
Floyd and Margaret Nordhagen Had Been Married for 68 Years
An elderly couple died holding hands after a fatal car crash Sunday afternoon on Washington state's Newport Highway. Floyd and Margaret Nordhagen were struck by a pick-up truck, and emergency services workers found the wife still clutching her dead husband's hand when they got there.
The elderly couple who died holding hands were livestock breeders from Chattroy and most likely didn't suspect that the ride would be their last. A friend, "Britches" Peden, said that Floyd, 92 possibly "misjudged the speed" when they pulled out in front of a pickup truck and were struck. When emergency workers arrived on the scene of the accident, they saw Margaret, 88, still holding on to her husband despite the wreck.
"You don't see that every day," State Trooper Rob Spencer told KREM TV. "We actually had to ask her to let go of him, so we could get him out of the car."
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Floyd, though, had already died. After workers pulled his body from the wreckage, they planned on taking Mrs. Nordhagen to the hospital for medical treatment. However, she died on the scene before she could be transported there.
Although it's unclear whether the Nordhagens were holding hands before the accident or whether Margaret reached for Floyd's hand after it occurred, but friends and family are not surprised. The couple celebrated 68 years of marriage together, and the breeder often bragged about how pretty his wife was, according to KREM TV.
"Make sure you always hug and kiss your wife, that is something I do every day," a friend said, recounting Floyd's advice. He was a "man who would help anyone in need" despite suffering from Alzheimer's, another friend said.
Margaret would help Floyd push the lawnmower when he became too weak to do so. They would also attend their community church together.
"I don't know if they were holding hands before he passed or if she grabbed him afterwards, but it doesn't matter," Peden said. "They would have been holding hands if they could. So that's the way we all want to remember them."
The Nordhagens are survived by four children, 11 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
