An Ohio mother was left with severe bruises and her daughter broke both ankles after an EF3 tornado destroyed her home.
Amanda Geer suffered black gashes over both eyes, deep bruising and broken bones on her face after 150 mph winds tore her trailer and sent it flying around her home in the Columbus area on March 15.
Her daughter, Kaylee Short, 15, was thrown 50 feet from the trailer onto Route 33 and broke both ankles.
“I remember my mother. I heard her scream and I looked up and there I was, on the road.” Kaley told WWNYTV. “I didn’t know. I looked around, but I didn’t know where it was.”
Mr. Short was hiding under the mattress when his mother started screaming. When she peeked outside, her house began to collapse around her.
“I went to the wall where the back door was and then to the ceiling,” she told local media.
Gere found her daughter on Highway 33, unable to move her legs or walk. According to WWNYTV, Short broke the same bone in both of her ankles, causing one of her ankles to pop out.
She suffered various cuts and bones, as well as a minor collarbone fracture, a family friend said at a GoFundMe fundraiser.
She was rushed to Mary Rutan Hospital and then taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, where she underwent surgery.
Short’s stepfather, Brian Scurlock, was at work when the tornado struck and immediately rushed to the hospital to visit Short.
“The first thing I did when I got to the hospital was go to her and hug her and start crying,” Scurlock told WWNYTV. “I told her girlfriend I was glad her girlfriend was successful and that I was going to be there for her.”
Geer himself recalled his experience during the tornado, saying he remembered “looking up” and “it was like daylight.”
With Short still in the hospital, his family is trying to figure out how to cope after their home was destroyed.
“I will never disrespect tornado sirens again,” Scurlock said.
