Tornado Flips Trailer With Man Inside; Family's Pray For Safety

ARONA, Pa.,None — A tornado touched down in Westmoreland County on Wednesday, hitting the Arona community pretty hard.

Target 11 investigator Rick Earle discovered several people were injured in the storm, one of whom had an amazing story of survival.

In Arona, roofs were torn from homes and trailers were flipped due to heavy winds.

Joe Bukowski, 74, said he was inside a camping trailer in his driveway when the tornado flipped it over.

"I'm OK," Bukowski said. "I got sore hips ... and just real stiff."

Bukowski is recovering at his home after being thrown around like a rag doll inside the trailer. In the driveway, the rear end of Bukowski's pickup truck is several feet off the pavement with the trailer, still connected to the truck, on its side.

Bukowski was inside the trailer getting it ready for vacation when the tornado blew in.

"The floor became the wall," he said. "I went down and hit the cabinet and flew across the trailer. I just couldn't believe it. It was like a nightmare. I said, ‘This can't be happening here.'"

Bukowski's wife, Ruth, rode out the storm inside the pickup truck.

"The truck was rocking back and forth," she said. "I thought it was going to flip, too. It didn't, luckily, but there was siding and shingles and chairs. Honest to God, I've never seen anything like it."

Ruth Bukowski said she tried to get her husband out of the trailer but couldn't reach him so she called 911.

"Rescue workers had a tough time getting here because of all of the fallen trees," said Joe Bukowski.

Joe Bukowski said he believes he's lucky that the trailer was attached to the pickup truck.

"It could have kept rolling," he said. "It's amazing -- a 5,000-pound trailer and it picks it up and turns it over like nothing."

Joe Bukowski suffered a fractured vertebrae. He said he won't be going on vacation anytime soon but said he'll be OK.

"Never been in a tornado before. Never been near one, and it's something I don't want to be in again," he said.

Another resident in Arona said he lost most of his 87-year-old farm in the storm.

Video: Tornado Destroys Arona Man's 87-Year-Old Farm

"I'm really not the crying type but this is unbelievable," said Bob Boice.

Boice said the tornado touched down on his 93-acre property, causing damages throughout most of it.

"That was my shed. I used to have farm equipment in there. The barn was over there. It was a big barn," said Boice.

Boice said his whole family was home when the tornado hit. He said even though everything is gone, he is relieved that his family is safe.

Boice said he hopes to rebuild the farm that he and his family have lived on for more than 44 years.

"If I get the money from insurance, I'll fix it up as good as I can," he said.

In Rilton, Robin Aaron and her family prayed as the twister demolished her and her family's home.

Aaron said trees snapped in half around them and winds ripped off one of the brick walls, while steel beams slashed through everything that was still standing.

"We all curled in a ball and just prayed," said Aaron. "I'm just so happy we're alive. It was terrible. It's something you see on TV that never in a million years would you imagine it would happen to you."

In Sewickley Township, an entire neighborhood of homes had their roofs ripped off. One home couldn't stand the wind and sits now as a pile of rubble.

In the distance, someone's boat had even been thrown across a field by the tornado.

"It was like the ‘Wizard of Oz,'" said Missy Cosharek. "You could see things just flying through the air, just flying, and we have a pole through our garage. A metal pole went through our metal garage door."

Along General Braddock Road, toys and other items from homes in the area were tossed around, getting stuck in the nearby trees.

One homeowner let Channel 11 News crews inside his home, where the living room and kitchen are just a shell of what it used to be.

The tornado also cut a path of destruction along Edna Road in Westmoreland County, flipping trailers, ripping roofs and knocking down trees and power lines.

Video: Edna Road Residents Cleaning Up Damage

"I bought this property when I was 18," said Chris Masser, who lives along Edna Road. "I built this building to retire in and to have my shop, and now it's gone."

Masser is picking up the pieces at his shop after the tornado ripped its roof off.

"I didn't even want to come down here today, but I got a call that there was looting," Masser said.

Nearby fields are littered with debris, and the trees that are still standing are covered with insulation and what's left of a metal shed.

Allison Davies said she rode out the storm in her basement as it blew out her windows.

"I stood in a door while everything was swirling around, hitting the house and broke the windows," she said. "It was scary."

Another man had to seek cover in a wooden shed. The man said he had to dive for cover when the metal antenna from the roof of his house ripped off the home and flew right at him.

"Straight at me, like a bullet," the man said. "I would say God was on my side."

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