Woman Gives First-Hand Account of Fighter Jet Crash: 'My Brother Was the One Who Saved the Pilot

Some of the more commonly experienced but tragic life-changing events can include news of a serious illness, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job. But Devin, a 21-year-old from Virginia Beach, had a more unique life-altering moment last Friday when an F-18 Hornet crashed into and destroyed her home.

(Related: Navy jet crashes into Virginia Beach apartment building)

Devin took to Reddit, a social news website, to tell her tale of the Navy jet that went down in Virginia Beach and destroyed an apartment complex building April 6. It is a story that Gizmodo rightly points out we should consider to an extent a skeptical mind, vetting its validity. Gizmodo thinks her account of the crash and events that followed are legitimate.

Here's how Devin starts:

Hi my name is Devin and I'm 21 years old. I can't even begin to wrap my mind around what has happened. Who thinks they're gonna wake up one morning then have their house destroyed by a jet?? My brother was the one who saved the pilot (Colby Smith) The amount of support I have gotten has been incredible. I decided to turn to reddit since I knew it was such a new and weird story. It's even crazier that no one died. But I guess I wanted to see how many people have had anything similar....tornado, fire, etc of their house and how did you feel? When did it get better? How was it seeing your house?

Knowing some would be waring of trusting the account of her brother's heroic actions -- perhaps because she decided to share her story on Reddit -- Devin provides video proof. Here's an interview her brother gave to the local news station after the Good Friday crash that occurred just after 12:30 p.m.:

Devin also details of her brother's story on Reddit:

my brother's story: My brothers story is actually really cool and it gave me chills when he told me. He was playing guitar hero in his room then got up to go put his contacts in. He was standing in the bathroom when the jet hit. He said it was a loud thunder noise and huge explosion and the house started shaking and the power cut off. He popped his head out of the doorway and saw his room on fire. He ran down the stairs and out the house without shoes on. Ran to my neighbor's house and then found the pilot right beside that house. That's when the pilot said he was sorry for hitting our home and my brother told him it was alright and they needed to move him to safety. There had to be a reason he got up at that precise moment to put his contacts in, it's freaky to think what would have happened to him if he decided to play one more song....

Devin acknowledges in her post that she has received some criticism for her story. She writes that some "Internet trolls" have been saying her account of the events is a scam. On the flip side, she says that some have also asked her to post her Pay-Pal account, to which she obliged.

In a final update to her story, Devin describes how the Navy has been providing them an allowance -- $89 per day for lodging and $30 for food -- which was not received and she and her brother were "kicked out" of the hotel they were living.

Devin and her brother, Colby, posted this video thank you to the Reddit community for their support (Warning: Some strong language):