Couple Caught in Rogers Tornado Shares Story of Survival
By: Marissa Stevens, KNWA-TV, Fayetteville
Updated: October 19, 2012
A Rogers couple is sharing the story of how they survived last weekend's tornado.
Eric and Lynette VanDyke had started the drive home to tuck their three kids in bed Saturday night.
"My wife and I had just left the movie theater... We were actually celebrating our anniversary... We were just talking about how the storm had apparently blown over."
"It's just lightly raining and we're going up 52nd Street and it just starts pouring down rain," said Lynette.
The couple could no longer see the road through the rain so they decided to pull over and let the storm pass, but things did not go as planned.
"It was just this white wind and rain just spinning around us and I said, 'Is this a tornado?'... The next thing I know is like a freight train, just something smashed into us," said Lynette.
The roof of a nearby business had been ripped off and slammed into their car. The couple found themselves caught in the middle of an EF1 tornado in Rogers.
"We felt our car being lifted and spun around and moved forward... My wife is praying out loud and I'm using four letter words out loud and we're counteracting each other there."
After moments of chaos, the car came to a stop and the two ran to take cover off the road.
"You're completely at the mercy of the storm, you know, completely helpless," said Eric.
"Everything was crossing my mind, that we're not going to get out of this, thinking of our children," said Lynette.
As quickly as the storm moved in, it was gone. The debris settled and the aftermath was apparent. Their car was totaled, but the VanDykes walked away with only minor bumps and bruises.
"It was God, that's the only thing it could have been that kept us alive," said Lynette.
"It's an anniversary we'll never forget, that's for sure," said Eric.
Thankfully the couple made it out of the storm okay, especially after an unfortunate string of events.
The car totaled during the tornado on their 5th anniversary was actually a rental car because the week before, Eric was driving his car and was hit by a drunk driver. All that after he just recovered from bacterial meningitis.
Click here to watch this report.
Eric and Lynette VanDyke had started the drive home to tuck their three kids in bed Saturday night.
"My wife and I had just left the movie theater... We were actually celebrating our anniversary... We were just talking about how the storm had apparently blown over."
"It's just lightly raining and we're going up 52nd Street and it just starts pouring down rain," said Lynette.
The couple could no longer see the road through the rain so they decided to pull over and let the storm pass, but things did not go as planned.
"It was just this white wind and rain just spinning around us and I said, 'Is this a tornado?'... The next thing I know is like a freight train, just something smashed into us," said Lynette.
The roof of a nearby business had been ripped off and slammed into their car. The couple found themselves caught in the middle of an EF1 tornado in Rogers.
"We felt our car being lifted and spun around and moved forward... My wife is praying out loud and I'm using four letter words out loud and we're counteracting each other there."
After moments of chaos, the car came to a stop and the two ran to take cover off the road.
"You're completely at the mercy of the storm, you know, completely helpless," said Eric.
"Everything was crossing my mind, that we're not going to get out of this, thinking of our children," said Lynette.
As quickly as the storm moved in, it was gone. The debris settled and the aftermath was apparent. Their car was totaled, but the VanDykes walked away with only minor bumps and bruises.
"It was God, that's the only thing it could have been that kept us alive," said Lynette.
"It's an anniversary we'll never forget, that's for sure," said Eric.
Thankfully the couple made it out of the storm okay, especially after an unfortunate string of events.
The car totaled during the tornado on their 5th anniversary was actually a rental car because the week before, Eric was driving his car and was hit by a drunk driver. All that after he just recovered from bacterial meningitis.
Click here to watch this report.
