SULLIVAN, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Three days after that devastating tornado hit the city of Sullivan, we are hearing more incredible stories from those who survived the deadly storm.
“You could hear the glass start blowing [out], it just blew the whole front enclosed porch off; all the windows flying.”
Sullivan resident John Pirtle is speaking out about his horrifying ordeal as Friday’s EF 3 tornado took aim at his Main Street home.
“And then, all of a sudden, the house started shaking. I’ve got two little grandchildren that live there and they started crying. The house, you can start seeing the crack in the walls. The house was cracking and started shaking. I thought, ‘Oh my God, ‘BOOM! I heard something hit the house. A tree uprooted and [blew] on top of the house. “
But, Pirtle says he wasn’t scared. He knew, for better or worse, his fate was in god’s hands. The home he was renting was destroyed in Friday’s tornado.
REPORTER: “So, you’re here today. Do you know what happens tomorrow?”
JOHN: “I used to sing a song when I was out evangelizing, ‘One Day at a Time.’ I started thinking about it, when I was down sitting in this garage. I thought ‘I used to sing this song all the time’ and I said, and the flip side of the record was ‘Why me, Lord?’ I got through why me then I got to thinking there was a lot worse off than me because I heard some didn’t make it.”
Just down the street, Shantel Elkins and her son surveyed the damage done to her sister’s home.
“Her dog, was in the house [Friday night]. He got trapped but by the grace of God he was saved so he is alive.”
With scenes of destruction, as far as the eye can see, Elkins was overcome with emotion, when she tried to talk about what happened there.
Her 13-year-old son shared in her grief and the grief of so many in this tight-knit community.
“It’s depressing and all I want to do is cry,” the young man explained.
It’s a sentiment, shared by many in Sullivan, as victims work through their grief — before starting on the next phase in their lives — rebuilding.
