Here is the story that was posted on upsers.com. I am just happy he made it out alive and well.
Surviving the Storm
Tuscaloosa UPSer survives historic tornado.
For many, Tuscaloosa is simply “T-Town.” A city made famous by the local state university and its winning tradition. In a town familiar with celebrating what has been won, April 27 will be remembered as a day in which so much was lost. On that day, the “T” stood for something ominous and tragic, a tornado for the ages.
Humbled
Tuscaloosa Delivery Driver James Jones, or Jimmy as he’s known in the center, witnessed the sound and fury as the tornado passed directly over him.
Only a mile from making it back to UPS’s Tuscaloosa facility that day, Jimmy realized the approaching storm wasn’t an ordinary one.
“I could see the clouds and lightning to my right as it started to hail, but I didn’t see the tornado until it was almost on top of me,” says Jimmy. “When I saw it, there wasn’t much time.”
“It” as we now know, was one of the most devastating and long-lived tornadoes in recorded U.S. history. Tuscaloosa was near the beginning of the tornado’s path of destruction that covered, at a minimum, parts of three states. First Mississippi, then Alabama and Georgia, felt the wrath of this enormous, mile-wide, tornado.
“It was a humbling experience,” says Jimmy, his voice cracking with emotion. “The Lord was right there with me. I have a purpose to be here. It wasn’t luck that I survived.”
In a matter of seconds
“When I first saw the tornado, I couldn’t tell for sure it was headed toward me. I saw an overpass ahead and remembered seeing those storm-chaser shows where people take cover under them. When I realized it was coming straight at me, I stopped my package car underneath the overpass, removed the keys, and ran as fast as I could up the hill to get under it.” Jimmy continues, “The wind was so hard I almost didn’t make it. It was only a matter of seconds….”
Jimmy grabbed onto a support beam beneath the bridge and held on. “I could feel the wind pulling me and debris hitting my back. It was so loud, almost deafening, and it seemed to last for an entire minute.”
When the tornado passed, Jimmy came out from the small ledge where he had held onto the bridge, and shot the amazing photograph above as the tornado continued its destructive path into Tuscaloosa. The world around him had changed. Only then did he realize that the package car he had parked on the southbound side of the highway was now crumpled upside-down in a northbound lane.
“Other people had stopped where I did, but they didn’t make it,” says Jimmy. “They never made it out of their cars.”
Three other motorists in the exact same location lost their lives.
UPS Driver Survives Deadly Tuscaloosa Tornado (Storm Chaser video - Internet access required)
Most important stop
Experts now speculate the super-cell tornado was an EF-4 or EF-5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, but none of that really matters to Jimmy. He realizes how fortunate and blessed he is to have been in the killer’s path and lived to tell the tale.
“I remember praying that the tornado didn’t hit our building (UPS),” Jimmy says. “When management arrived, I told them that I was sorry about the package car. They told me the car didn’t really matter. They were just thankful that I was alive.”
It isn’t surprising that Jimmy was concerned about his vehicle and his customers’ packages, or that from years of routine he had the presence of mind to pull the keys as he ran for cover. A recent Circle of Honor inductee, Jimmy is proud to be a UPSer.
“I don’t take my job for granted because it’s an honor to say that I work for UPS,” he says. “I feel bad about my customers’ packages and hate that my package car was destroyed….”
Putting those thoughts aside, Jimmy realizes there are more important things on a day like April 27.
“Like they always tell us at work, the most important stop of the day is when you get home safe. I know how true that is today.”
