Junior Karl Barthel was out on a run near Dartford Road when the tornado touched down. Earlier that day, his AP Psychology exam had been canceled, and his track practice had been called off, so with time to spare, he decided to go on a run.
“I was just running, and then the wind started to pick up really fast,” Barthel said. “I tried to run home, but I couldn’t because it was too strong.”
The storm rapidly intensified, and as debris began falling, he sought out shelter.
“I saw my neighbor’s fence breaking, and big tree branches were falling,” Barthel said. “I grabbed onto a tree trunk for some sort of protection.”
Barthel remained under the tree for several minutes. After the storm calmed down temporarily, he ran to a nearby house.
“I ran to my neighbor’s house and started knocking on the door, but no one was there,” Barthel said. “So I waited on their doorstep just in case the wind started again.”
Once the wind died down, Barthel ran the remaining blocks to his house. When he arrived, he saw that a tree had fallen across the family’s car. The wind had thrown the tree across the windshield and crushed the engine.
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A tree smashed the windshield and roof of junior Karl Barthel’s family car, damaging the engine and totaling the vehicle.
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A tree from the storm fell on junior Karl Barthel’s family car, leaving his parents unable to pick him up.
“My dad told me it actually went airborne before it landed,” Barthel said.
Barthel had already learned the car was destroyed during the storm. He called his parents while sheltering and asked them to come pick him up, but they were unable to because the car had already been totaled.
Following the tornado, Barthel’s neighborhood lost power. Although his house relied on a friend’s generator, much of the area remained without electricity for several days.
“It’s powering our fridge and TV right now,” he said. “But we still don’t have a working dishwasher, washing machine or lights, which is really frustrating.”
Barthel’s mother was especially concerned when she found out he had been outside during the storm.
“My mom was terrified,” he said. “I wasn’t close to home at the time, and I think she was worried I wouldn’t make it back.”
Barthel described the moment as dangerous and mentally overwhelming.
“I was scared,” he said. “That’s probably the closest to death I’ve ever felt. I thought one of the branches might fall on me.”
He never anticipated that his jog would become such a scary experience.
“I didn’t think the storm would be that bad,” Barthel said. “Then everything changed really fast.”
