Twin Toddlers Drown After Mom Swats at Bee

That nearly universal instinct to swat at an insect buzzing by us led to a tragic outcome for an Arizona mom on Friday. Alexis Keslar was taking a stroll along a canal in Yuma with her 18-month-old twins, Eli and Silas, when a bee ventured into her path. Police say when Keslar tried to bat the bee away, she momentarily let her hands leave the twins' stroller—and it rolled down an embankment and into the canal, the boys secured tightly in their seats, CNN reports. Although Keslar went right into the canal to try to rescue the twins, she was slowed down by its steep slope, deep waters, and powerful current, officials say; that current swept the stroller away.

Administrators who run the canal made adjustments to the water level and flow rate to assist with the search, but it was too late: The twins were found roughly an hour-and-a-half later and were pronounced dead at an area hospital, KPHO reports. Marlene Gleim, who said she's a family friend—and who's created a GoFundMe account to assist Alexis Keslar and her husband, Mark—tells KYMA that "no parent should ever have to lose a child … let alone both of them at the same time." The GoFundMe account has raised more than $21,000 so far; Gleim wrote that the funds will go toward memorial and medical costs. (Bees were responsible for another tragedy in Arizona last fall.)