I’ve seen the Twister movies and the various other ways Hollywood likes to portray tornadoes, but I always thought the way they chuck stuff around was just artistic license. But, Mya Grimes, a Jackson State student, was actually spun and thrown from her car by a tornado, and lived to tell the tale.
As she drove home, Mya knew she was racing against time and a tornado. Her hometown of St. Louis was being devastated by the natural disaster. But she thought she could beat it. She had called both her parents, and they had advised her to be careful but to get home as fast as she could.
Driving her car, she tried to outpace the tornado. While on the phone with her mother, the phone call was cut off, and she was swept up into the rampaging tornado. Her mother remembers her daughter’s last words before she was swallowed. She said, “It’s taking me,” and the phone disconnected.
Recalling the terrifying event, Mya told KSDK, “My car started spinning in circles and spinning in circles, and I was just literally terrified and holding on to my steering wheel for dear life. The door opened, and I flew out of my car.”
Tornado Ripped Car Apart And Threw Student Down The Street
Mya looked back at how lucky she was to survive. As she sat in the car, spinning in the tornado, she remembered how all the windows were blown out. The driver’s side door was then ripped open, and despite wearing her seatbelt, she was pulled from the car and thrown 40m down the road.
She was able to remain in place by holding onto a light pole, just like in the movies. Remarkably, she came out mostly unscathed. In an Instagram post sharing her experience, she noted, “I have gashes from the glass and sliding down the street. No broken bones. No concussion. And, no head injury.”
It’s remarkable to be hit by a tornado and be physically pulled from a car and survive. The tornado that tore through St. Louis reached speeds of 152 miles an hour. As a result of the tornado, 5 people lost their lives and 38 were injured.