The 5.2 Midwest earthquake that struck in the wee hours of Friday morning claimed its first victim when 96-year-old Maude Frickert-Smith of Paducah, KY died from an epidural hematoma.
She had been sleeping in her bed when the quake catapulted her into her bedroom wall. She was found unresponsive by her niece, Sadie Gerke, who lived with her.
Just before Ms. Frickert-Smith succumbed to her head trauma, she regained consciousness long enough to ask what had happened. When told that there was an earthquake, she smiled and sighed, "Too bad. That was the most action I had in bed since my fourth husband died in 1948."