Sawyerville tornado leaves 1 dead, 8 injured Thursday

By WVUA 23 News Reporter Aajene Robinson

Parts of Sawyerville are devastated in the wake of a tornado Thursday afternoon, and Hale County Emergency Management Agency Director Russel Weeden confirms one person is dead and eight more are injured. Of those, three were in critical condition Thursday night.

The person who died has not yet been identified, but Weeden said that death occurred on County Road 30. The victim was inside a destroyed home that wound up blown across the road.

On County Road 17, mature trees were bowled over and blocking the road. Similar devastation happened on County Road 14, where power lines went down and trees smashed into homes.

Sawyerville resident Gloria Doss lost her home in the storm but said she’s far from alone in dealing with the devastation.

“My aunt told me that it tore her house up,” Doss said. “I called my momma to check on her and it tore her house up. My uncle, I got in touch with him, and it tore his house up. My son’s trailer was gone. My other uncle, his mobile home is torn up but he was safe.”

It’s a miracle he’s alive, she said, considering the tornado threw him into a pond while he was attempting to move his truck.

“He had to swim out of his truck to get out of the water,” she said.

WVUA 23 News will keep you updated with the cleanup process.