Man hangs on ‘for dear life,’ rides out tornado in truck

This image taken Monday, July 24, 2023, near Bertrand, Missouri, shows a possible tornado. Gerald Scott got caught in an EF2 twister at the intersection of Scott County Road 532 and Route O, riding out the storm in an MFA truck. (Courtesy of Nick Kennedy)

Gerald Scott was driving an MFA truck down Scott County Road 532 on Monday, July 24, to drop fuel for a customer when he had to pull over because of the heavy rain.

“I couldn’t see out the windshield no more because it was raining so much,” Scott said. “I didn’t want to be on the road to hit somebody or hit something or somebody hit me.”

Scott pulled off the road shortly after 2 p.m. close to a farming community at the intersection of Scott County Road 532 and Route O near Bertrand, Missouri, to wait the storm out.

“Maybe 30 seconds after I stopped and hit the brake, I looked out of the window and saw a tornado,” he said.

At that point, the twister was 80 to 100 feet away from him. He estimated it to be about 100 feet wide

There was no time for him to do anything, so he decided to stay put and hope for the best -- namely that no debris would slam through the truck’s windows or the tornado would overturn the vehicle.

Moments later, the truck started shaking hard, he said. Debris and metal (likely from a nearby shed that had been destroyed) came flying toward the truck, slamming its side. Finally, debris shattered the windshield.

“I could feel it was trying to roll the truck over,” Scott said. “I was holding on to the steering wheel for dear life.”

After what he estimated to be two long minutes, the tornado finally passed and Scott looked out of his window knowing he was safe.

“I’ve been around several tornadoes, but nothing ever to that extent,” he said.

National Weather Service officials in Paducah, Kentucky, confirmed the storm contained an EF2 tornado.

“I’ve drove that road many times. I’ve always remembered there were two houses in that area. When I looked up, I saw one house, and the other one was gone,” he said.

Two residents were inside the house when the tornado hit. Scott said a man was in a wheelchair in the living room, but a woman managed to run to the basement. Miraculously, they both had only minor scratches and injuries, and no one was severely hurt.