"Most of the houses were just completely gone." Arkansas tornado survivor describes killer twister
Landscaper Ryan Newton was driving his truck along the highway just outside Mayflower, Arkansas, yesterday evening when something began to feel very wrong. "All of a sudden you could see a greenish glow in the sky," he said. "And then it went dark." He stopped his truck, and seconds later, a tornado nearly a kilometre wide ripped across the highway...
Landscaper Ryan Newton was driving his truck along the highway just outside Mayflower, Arkansas, yesterday evening when something began to feel very wrong. "All of a sudden you could see a greenish glow in the sky," he said. "And then it went dark." He stopped his truck, and seconds later, a tornado nearly a kilometre wide ripped across the highway in front of him.
Ryan Newton took this image of the carnage minutes after the tornado passed through
"I was in the tornado, but not in the eye of it," he tells Carol. It was so wide, he added, that it looked like a wall of debris -- he couldn't see the edges of the funnel shape.
The tornado was one of several that touched down in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. At least 14 people were killed in the tornado Mr. Newton was caught in, which levelled Mayflower and nearby Vilonia, Arkansas.
After it had passed through, Mr. Newton sprang into action, rescuing a driver from a destroyed tractor-trailer truck before helping treat injured people in the town, most of which was levelled. "Most of the houses were just completely gone," he tells Carol.
Hear their conversation by clicking the "Listen" link above.