Missing Staten Island toddlers swept away by Sandy found dead
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The bodies of two missing toddlers were found on Staten Island, bringing superstorm Sandy's death toll even higher.
CBS affiliate WCBS-TV reports the mother of the boys, age 4 and 2, was trying to leave the borough with her children during the height of the storm on Monday when her SUV hit a tree and stalled.
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Glenda Moore said she and her sons left the car to look for help. A surge of water came up and swept up 4-year-old Connor and 2-year-old Brandon right out of her arms as she clung to a rail.
Their bodies were found Thursday morning in a wooded marsh.
Superstorm Sandy has been blamed for at least 38 deaths in New York City and more than 80 deaths nation-wide, mostly from car accidents and fallen trees. Staten Island has accounted for more deaths than any other borough in New York City
An off-duty police officer, Artur Kasprzak, also died Monday night on Staten Island when water flooded into his basement.
WCBS-TV reports he helped six members of his family into his attic to escape rapidly rising waters before he went to check the basement. Emergency workers couldn't immediately get into the home because of electrical wires in the water, and his body was found the next morning. Medical examiners are still working to determine his cause of death.