Devastated after her home collapsed in the aftermath of Sunday's deadly flooding in Connecticut, Randi Marcucio got some good news this week that warmed her heart and eased her despair.
Sonograms of the single mom's now-3-year-old son that washed away in the swollen brook next to her home in Oxford were found some 30 miles (48 kilometers) away on a beach in Westport and returned to her Wednesday.
“Honestly, it felt like holding a piece of my heart, a piece of my soul," Marcucio, an emergency room nurse, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday evening. “Seeing pictures of your child in your womb, and suffering such a great loss, there are no words. I don't know how to describe it.”
A stranger, Nancy Lewis, was walking with a friend along Compo Beach in Westport on Monday when she saw what looked like a photo in the water. She picked it up and saw there were two sonograms on a single piece of paper with Marcucio's name on it.
She looked up the name and was heartbroken when she saw news of of Marcucio's home collapsing. Lewis contacted WVIT-TV, which recorded Lewis meeting Marcucio near the collapsed house to give her the sonograms.
“I saw the devastation and read your story — a single mom, emergency room nurse,” Lewis told Marcucio. “I figured you were somebody who’s always caring for other people and I just wanted to see if there was anything that I could do for you, apart from this little sonogram that I found.”
Marcucio looked at the sonograms and held them to her heart.
“That’s him. Thank you,” Marcucio said before hugging Lewis. "That’s incredible. What are the chances?”
Oxford is an inland town along the Housatonic River, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of where the river empties into Long Island Sound between Stratford and Milford. It's another 15 miles (24 kilometers) west to Compo Beach. The brook next to Marcucio's home runs into the Housatonic.
When a foot or more of rain fell Sunday, it turned the normally tranquil brook into a raging river and washed away a good chunk of the land under Marcucio's home. Her son, Rhylee, was staying with her parents at the time. Marcucio left her house and stayed the night with neighbors.
The house she bought two years ago on Mother's Day collapsed the next day — a moment caught on video by a neighbor when Marcucio wasn't there.
She considers herself lucky. The storm wreaked havoc on towns in the area, washing out bridges, flooding homes and businesses and leading to numerous rescues. Two women died after being swept away by floodwaters elsewhere in Oxford in different incidents.
Marcucio has been overwhelmed by the support of so many people, in town and around the country. A GoFundMe page has raised about $157,000 for her and her son. A developer is letting them stay in one of his condos for a year. Donations of clothes and food have poured in. She said she wants to thank so many people, including local construction company workers and Oxford public works crews.
Marcucio said she spoke with an insurance adjuster, and it appears there's little chance the destruction of her home will be covered by her policy. Her home wasn't in a flood zone and she did not have, or think she needed, flood insurance. Most of the land her house sat on is gone, so she doesn't think she can rebuild. She hasn't had a lot of time to think about the future.
The sonograms were not boxed up or in a plastic bag. They're among the few belongings she was able to recoup. She didn't think the house was going to collapse and didn't believe she needed to remove important items. But she did get her son's teddy bear out the night before. Priceless mementos of her mother, who died when she was 12, are gone, including a hairbrush and a bottle of perfume.
“Unfortunately, there was loss of life in my community, so I cannot complain about the tangible items that were lost,” she told the AP. “The support from the community is just moving me forward. I haven’t really had the processing time or the grieving time. It’s just really survival mode and things along those lines at this point.”
In this photo provided by Randi Marcucio, the remains of her home sits collapsed during heavy flooding in Oxford, Conn., Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Randi Marcucio via AP)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Riley Leonard passed for three touchdowns and Notre Dame's defense forced five turnovers as the No. 8 Fighting Irish beat Virginia 35-14 on Saturday.
Leonard was 22 for 33 for 214 yards as Notre Dame (9-1) raced to a 35-0 lead and won its eighth straight game.
Leonard's TD passes came in the first half. He found Jayden Harrison with an 8-yard strike, Cooper Flanagan with a 2-year flare and hit Mitchell Evans with a 16-yard pass.
Notre Dame forced the five turnovers in the first half and four led to touchdowns. Xavier Watts intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble. Adon Shuler and Leonard Moore also had interceptions, while Max Hurleman recovered a fumble. Rod Heard II forced a fumble.
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said the takeaways in the first half jump-started his team.
“When your defense is playing as well as we’re playing, it allows you to still be in the game and be in a position to win, maybe when you weren’t having the success you want offensively to start the game,” Freeman said. “And so the defense is doing a heck of a job, and offense is doing a good job, man.”
Freeman hopes that the Fighting Irish will have an opportunity to host a College Football Playoff game. Saturday's game was the final regular-season home contest for Notre Dame.
“Let’s go to work,” Freeman said. “Let’s give this program a chance to play in this stadium one more time.”
Notre Dame capitalized on a Virginia miscue on the opening kickoff, setting up its first score. Former Notre Dame team member Chris Tyree muffed his attempt to catch the opening kickoff, and the ball ricocheted off the turf into the hands of Hurleman, giving Notre Dame possession at the Cavaliers’ 25.
Five plays later, Jeremiyah Love finished off the drive with a 4-yard sprint into the end zone. Love also scored on a 76-yard run in the third quarter and finished with 137 yards on 16 carries.
“I just trusted my ‘O’ line," Love said of his spectacular 76-yard run that was Notre Dame's offensive highlight. "Once I saw a hole, I hit it. I have breakaway speed, so … track meet after that.”
Notre Dame had two possible touchdowns and 151 yards wiped out by penalties in a 10-second span. A Leonard-to-Harrison strike for 78 yards was called back due to a hands-to-the-face penalty against Pat Coogan. A play later, a fake punt in which Jordan Faison raced 73 yards for a score was negated by an illegal formation penalty.
Virginia (5-5) replaced quarterback Anthony Colandrea with Tony Muskett at the start of the second half. Muskett capped a five-play, 75-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown run. He also scored on a 2-yard run with 18 seconds remaining in the game.
“They’re not going to quit,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said of his players fighting back from the dismal first half. “They’re going to fight. That’s part of our DNA. You have to have the resilience to just keep battling regardless of circumstances. Proud of the effort to play all the way to the end. We have a lot of coaching to do, lot of teaching to do, lot of improving to do.”
Elliott said that he will make a decision later on whether Colandrea or Muskett will start against SMU. Colandrea, a sophomore, was 8 of 21 for 69 yards with three interceptions. Muskett, a graduate student, was 9 for 14 for 103 yards.
“We’re definitely going to have to go back and evaluate the game and see what gives us the best opportunity the next two weeks,” Elliott said. “We have two good quality quarterbacks that we believe both can give us a chance. No decision is made until we can sit down and evaluate all of the circumstances and the entire situation.”
Virginia's Malachi Fields caught four passes for 81 yards.
Jonas Sanker recovered a fumble and had a sack and another tackle for loss for Virginia, finishing with eight tackles from his safety position.
Notre Dame: A punishing defense set up the offense and helped Notre Dame pile up style points as the window to impress the College Football Playoffs committee narrows.
Virginia: Turnovers sabotaged the Cavaliers' hopes of securing another road upset of a Top 25 team and earning a bowl berth. Virginia, which beat then-No. 23 Pitt 24-19 a week ago, now must beat either No. 14 SMU at home or archrival Virginia Tech on the road to become bowl eligible.
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish solidified their hold on a Top 10 ranking with an impressive victory.
No. 8 Notre Dame plays No. 16 Army at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
Virginia hosts No. 14 SMU on Saturday.
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Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans (88) dives into the end zone as Virginia safety Jonas Sanker (20) pushes him during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina)
