Amputee dad tried to wait for ambulance for disabled son but did not make it out alive 
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A 67 year-old amputee father was killed in the LA wildfires after staying behind to wait for an ambulance for his disabled son, who also died.
Anthony Mitchell was found by the side of his son Justin, who was in his early 20s and suffered cerebral palsy, in Altadena, California, after his family said he tried to protect them both.
‘They didn’t make it out,’ Mitchell’s daughter Hajime White told the Washington Post.
White said her father called her on Wednesday morning to tell her he and her half-brother Justin were evacuating due to the advancing fires.
‘Then he said, ‘I’ve got to go — the fire’s in the yard,’ she recalled, saying it was the last time she heard his voice.
‘He was not going to leave his son behind, no matter what,’ she added. ‘It’s very hard. It’s like a ton of bricks just fell on me.’
White said her father was a retired salesman and amputee who used a wheelchair, and said he was a loving family man dedicated to his four children, 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
It comes as the death toll from the Los Angeles fires doubled to 10 overnight as officials warned the true devastation will take time to be uncovered.
Anthony Mitchell, 67, (pictured) was found by the side of his son Justin, who was in his early 20s and suffered cerebral palsy, in Altadena, California, as his family said he ‘was not going to leave his son behind, no matter what’
Mitchell’s daughter Hajime White said she spoke to her father on the phone as the fires approached his home, and after his tragic passing she said it felt ‘like a ton of bricks just fell on me’
Los Angles authorities said late Thursday night that the official death toll doubled to 10, but warned that the true death count was ‘expected to rise’
The LA medical examiner announced late Thursday night that it was investigating 10 fire-related deaths in the area, but did not offer any information on the victims’ identities or their locations.
As investigators continue to comb through the ashes while fire crews battle multiple blazes, the medical examiner said some identifications could take weeks.
This is due to challenges accessing the bodies in certain areas and their charred remains, with teams using dental records and DNA to identify people as identifiers such as fingerprints and facial features lost.
‘Please also keep in mind, traditional means of identification such as fingerprinting and visual identification may not be available and will add more time for naming these decedents,’ the medical examiner said in a statement.
Three other victims have so far been named, including another Californian who stayed behind to try and fight the out-of-control fires.
Victor Shaw, 66, tragically perished in the Eaton Fire after his sister Shari Shaw said she pleaded with him to evacuate with her.
She told KTLA that she tried on Tuesday night to get her brother to leave with her as fires approached, but he wanted to stay behind to rest, as he suffered from diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
‘When I went back in and yelled out his name, he didn’t reply back, and I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm – I had to save myself,’ Shari said.
‘And I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames, and I had to leave.’
A family friend later told the outlet that they found Victor’s charred remains by the side of the road with a hose on Wednesday morning, and it looked ‘like he was trying to save the home that his parents had for almost 55 years.’
Anthony Mitchell, 67, (pictured) was found by the side of his son Justin, who was in his early 20s and suffered cerebral palsy, in Altadena, California, as his family said he ‘was not going to leave his son behind, no matter what’
Mitchell’s daughter Hajime White said she spoke to her father on the phone as the fires approached his home, and after his tragic passing she said it felt ‘like a ton of bricks just fell on me’
Los Angles authorities said late Thursday night that the official death toll doubled to 10, but warned that the true death count was ‘expected to rise’
