VILLISCA, Iowa (WOWT) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office shared video of one of its sergeants getting caught in one of Tuesday’s tornadoes.
According to the sheriff’s office, Sgt. Todd Dollen was evacuating campers at the Hacklebarney Woods County Park at the time.
Dollen was able to get the people inside one of the campers to shelter, then tried getting himself to the equestrian side of the campground.
That’s when a tree fell in front of his vehicle, preventing him from getting to shelter.
The video shows Dollen waiting out the storm in his vehicle, as the tornado passes over his head.
The sheriff’s office said the eastern part of county sustained widespread damage due to the tornado.
No major injuries were reported.
Dollen told 6 News he had driven to the park’s campground to alert about a half-dozen campers that severe weather was approaching.
He wanted to help them get to a brick shower house on the grounds to stay safe. It was clear he was not going to make it to the campers or even get himself to the safe house. But he did not panic.
Watch the body camera video
“I put the vehicle in park, my foot on the brake, and grabbed the steering wheel. I kind of relate it to an amusement park ride where you are anticipating what’s going to happen,” he said.
The sergeant, who has been in law enforcement for 30 years, has seen the video that is making the news — even going viral — of tornado debris nearly crushing his patrol car.
“When the tree went down in front of me — it wasn’t a big tree, it was just the top of a tree that hit my vehicle. It was at that point I knew I wasn’t going to get out of my vehicle,” he said.
Dollen said it happened very fast. He said he’s fortunate that he — and the campers — escaped unharmed.
“Honestly, I was just trying to get to the park, make sure everybody was out and I was going to get the heck out of there, too. I just ran out of time,” he said.
Dollen said he also wanted all the volunteers and first responders in Villisca to know how grateful he is for the countless hours they have put in during this disaster.
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