BUFFALO, N.Y. — There are now 39 people who have died in Erie County from the blizzard.
Among them is 26-year-old Abdul Sharifu, who moved from the Congo to Buffalo years ago. He was just getting the next chapter of his life started.
Sharifu was known to many by nickname '911.'
"Anytime you call up Abdul, he was ready to go. He was ready to leave his duty to help," said his uncle, Enock Rushikana.
It's why it doesn't come as a surprise that he rushed to help another person during the blizzard. On Christmas Eve, a friend called Sharifu, saying she needed milk for her baby.
Sharifu's wife Gloria told him it wasn't a good idea to leave during the storm.
"Abdul told his wife that 'I'll wait until it calms down, and then I'll go to help this person,' " Rushikana said.
He left around noon, and that was the last time his family would ever hear from him. Later that day, Sharifu's car was found on Utica Street.
Good Samaritans, including Savannah Jordan, found Sharifu lying in the snow six blocks from his house.
"We got him in the car. I took off my coat, took off my hoodie. Tried to wrap him up as much as I could. He was breathing really shallow. He still had a pulse," Jordan said.
They tried to take him to Buffalo General where, according to a Kaleida Health report, "The driver of the vehicle carrying Mr. Sharif’s body pulled up to the main lobby/valet entrance of Buffalo General Medical Center, not the emergency department entrance," and those doors are locked at 9 p.m. each night.
The Good Samaritans then took Sharifu to Oishei Children's Hospital, and his family later told them Sharifu didn't make it.
Now Sharifu will never hear the one thing he wanted most: to hear his first child, a son, call him 'dad.'
"He was so excited to have his first son when he was alive. He was always sharing with the other young men in the community how he will become a father, to be called father," Rushikana said.
It's unclear exactly whether Abdul died before arriving at the hospital or while he was there. Kaleida Health released a detailed report on the circumstances surrounding his arrival at the facility, which you can read below.
Meanwhile, Sharifu's family started a GoFundMe to cover the cost of his funeral. As of Thursday afternoon, more than $45,000 has been raised to take care of the wife Abdul married just last year.
It will also help Gloria take care of her unborn baby who she will now be taking care of alone.
"The family is still in big shock of his death. The community has lost an angel," Rushikana said.