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TEXAS – Just In

As Texas continues to reel from one of the most devastating floods in U.S. history, a single story has gripped the nation—and left NFL star Patrick Mahomes in tears.

Her name was Malaya Hammond. She was just 17 years old.

And she died a hero.

17-year-old Malaya (pictured right) managed to open a car door and save the rest of her family from their submerged minivan that had fallen into floodwaters on July 5

🌊A Final Act of Courage

On the morning of July 5, as her family drove toward a Christian summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, their van was swept off Cow Creek Bridge in Marble Falls—engulfed in the raging waters after a flash flood tore through the region.

“With no time to stop, their minivan plunged into a raging river,” said family friend Mikki Willis.

As the Hamond family drove over the Cow Creek Bridge in the heavy rain and dark conditions, the family ended up driving off a cliff due to flooding across the bridge
Inside were Malaya, her parents, and her two younger siblings. Trapped, terrified, and sinking.

But Malaya didn’t freeze.
She opened the door, pushed her family out to safety—and was swept away by the current before she could escape herself.

Her body was found two days later, downstream.
The teenager was swept away in the strong current of the floodwaters and a three-day-search operation ended as they found her body on July 7

🏈“She Did What Most Adults Couldn’t”: Mahomes’ Personal Tribute

After reading Malaya’s story, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a Texas native and father of two, said he was “completely shattered.”

He not only donated $250,000 to the family’s relief fund—but also flew to Marble Falls in secret, to meet Malaya’s grieving parents, Liz and Matthew, and her siblings.

“What your daughter did… that’s the kind of bravery legends are made of,” Mahomes told the family, according to sources close to the visit.

Then, holding back tears, he made a personal promise:

“My next win, my next touchdown—it’s for Malaya. I’ll make sure her name is never forgotten.”

Malaya was able to save her parents, Liz and Matthew, as well as her younger siblings, Khalil, 16, and Surya, 14, who went back to the scene to mourn the brave teen

🕊More Than a Star — She Was a Beacon

‘Ask anyone who knows her, and they’ll tell you: Malaya is one of the most gentle, compassionate young women they’ve ever met,’ family friend Mikki Willis said
Friends and teachers say Malaya Hammond wasn’t just gifted—she was radiant.
She loved to dance, to sing, to paint. She worked as a barista at Numinous Coffee Roasters, and recently sang at a house concert with her father.

“She had more talent in her pinkie than most have in a lifetime,” said her teacher Amy Miller.
“She taught me more than I could’ve ever taught her.”

‘Malaya was wise beyond her years. Gentle. Radiant. A peacemaker. She gave a grace to others so naturally,’ said another friend of the family

📣A Nation Mourns — But Remembers

The outpouring of grief has been immense:

A GoFundMe set up for the Hammonds has raised over $139,000.
Harmony Dance Studio, where Malaya trained, held a candlelight vigil in her honor.
Thousands across the country have flooded social media with #RememberMalaya tributes.

A total of 173 people are still believed to be missing in Texas days after flash floods killed 120 people during the July Fourth weekend

🛑“She Gave Her Life So We Could Live”

Her father Matthew Hammond said it best:

“She saved us all. My baby girl… gave her life so we could live.”

The huge jump in the number unaccounted for – roughly three times higher than previously said – came after authorities set up a hotline for families to call

📍Latest Texas Flood Tragedy Toll:

120+ confirmed dead
173 missing, including 5 campers and 1 counselor still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic
Deadliest inland flood in the U.S. since 1976
Entire communities washed away
Devastation across Kerr County, home to youth camps and retreat centers

Kerr County’s lowlands along the Guadalupe River are filled with youth camps and campgrounds, including Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died