A Raleigh man had a close call with a massive tornado in Northern Illinois and has the video to prove it.
Sam Smith, who works for Morrisville pest control company Insight Pest Solutions, was driving on Interstate 39 in Northern Illinois last Thursday when he saw a funnel cloud approaching.
The video he captured has been very popular on social media, with nearly 800,000 views so far.
Just before the tornado hit, Smith said it was raining hard before golf ball-sized hail began to fall. He stopped under an overpass with several other vehicles to protect his vehicle from damage.
Smith, who is a former policeman, said he left the underpass because he feared he would be hit as tractor trailers moved through with horns blaring.
Raw video: Click here to watch the tornado video
As he moved to the next underpass, his son called. During that conversation, Smith said he looked across a field and saw the tornado.
Smith said his son became excited by the idea his dad was witnessing a tornado. But Smith’s narration on the video is very calm.
Smith’s son encouraged him to record the funnel cloud. Smith said he remained so calm for his son while recording the tornado as it moved towards his vehicle.
“I never thought I would die. That feeling never came to me,” Smith said. “But I’m getting ready to get really, seriously hurt.”
He said it was more than just a “bit scary.”
“I could feel the truck lifting up off the suspension,” he said.
Smith said the only other similar weather he has experience was when he worked as a private contractor doing pest control in Iraq for three years.
Smith said he experienced sandstorms but nothing like the tornado in Illinois.
“I’ve told I was only a couple hundred feet from it. I thought I was in it,” he said.
Copyright 2015 WNCN. All rights reserved.
