‘Can’t believe they drove away.’ Video shows Texas tornado flip, spin around Chevy truck
Not much can get between Texans and their trucks. Not even a tornado.
A young driver of a 2004 red Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cab truck was suddenly in the throes of a tornado Monday on Texas 95 in Elgin.
Footage of the harrowing scene was caught by several storm chasers, including Brian Emfinger, who posted video on social media.
The 2.5-ton truck was flipped over onto its right side and spun 360 degrees as debris flew wildly across the highway. The violent wind eventually flipped the truck back upright. Amazingly, the driver, 16-year-old Riley Leon, only suffered a cut on his left arm.
Storm chaser Marcus Reynolds said he let the boy use his phone to call his parents. The tornado was classified as an EF-2, the fourth-strongest level of tornado. Leon described his ordeal in an interview Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“This is a story about a red truck and a tornado…. I CANNOT believe they drove away like that,” Emfinger posted with his video footage. “Tornado crossing the road in front of me near Elgin, TX. The debris is from a mobile home that was destroyed. One person was taken away by ambulance.”
Elgin is about 25 miles northeast of Austin. Tornadoes struck other parts of the state during Monday’s storms, including Round Rock, Jacksboro and Bowie.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
