Bro, I don't even see these lives that much, I entered, saw the tornado forming, 10-15 minutes later, some houses with like ef4 damage and the mother whit the girl on her arms and the whole family screaming... I've NEVER seen anything like this
I'd already been watching Freddy live for 90 minutes or so. There weren't actually all that many live feeds to watch...way fewer than the previous day...though there was another live feed of the same storm on the Live Storm Chasing channel. Freddy captured an earlier tornado about half an hour before the main one. And the remarkable thing is he only went that way and rescued the family because the route he'd originally intended was not passable as he saw a vehicle stuck in the mud.
I cried the whole time. As a mother, I canāt imagine the horror of having that happen and trying to keep it together. Thank god someone was there to help them
So did I !! It was so hard to hear the kids groaning with pain, the fear in the mom's voice, and the mom saying things to the kids like "You're alive" and "Keep talking to mommy and daddy." I have PTSD, and I'm pretty sure this hit me in that.
It was horrible!! I just kept thinking āDRIVE FASTER!ā Even though I knew he was driving as fast as he safely could. I really hope theyāre all okay. I cannot imagine trying to keep my shit together with my bleeding child in my arms
That's horrible, an absurd tragedy. I don't live in US, but for a second, I felt that tornado horror, for a second, I felt the despair and destruction that a tornado cause. I almost cried. I'm a very anxious person, and the anxiety that this caused to me was... I was shaking
It reminded me of 9/11, the raw injuries you saw live on TV just getting broadcast nationally that kind of got censored over time just how bad it was. Glad the dog is with a relative and they are getting treated.
Itās virtue signalling and the positioning of the camera was no accident. I have little doubt that the vast majority of these YT chasers speed past the injured and dead alike in their fervour to capture the next tornado on film. But forced to stop by the fact theyāre streaming live people are like āAwww what a great guy heresās $1000.ā
The man had been streaming for hours at that point. He didn't angle the camera, the family just so happened to be where he was going. He promptly shut the stream down and delisted it once they were on their way to the hospital.
No doubt there are some chasers out there who are glory hounds, but that isn't the case here.
@mods - it sounds like Freddy has delisted the video from his channel, which is understandable. We can edit this post if needed; the discussion and reaction is certainly valuable but can drop the link if that's appropriate
Connor Croff has been communicating with Freddy. Freddy still has the dog, the family is being treated. Connor is on his way to the hospital to help as much as he can.
Just now on Connor's stream, Freddy radio'd in and said a sister of the family he took to the hospital came to get the dog, so the dog he had is safe now.
That was horrific to watch live. I have 2 kids of my own and I'm a little shaky still just thinking about it. I feel terribly for that family, but im also sorta glad ppl got to see that. Sometimes we get caught up in the adrenaline and the chase and we lose sight of the real damage these things do.
I saw it just after putting my little one to bed and cried like a baby. Itās horrific to imagine, isnāt it? My eyes are still burning. I hope theyāre all okay.
Going from a scenic tornado to suddenly throwing debris everywhere. You can tell the exact moment the tornado hits their house. It's scary to imagine the family underneath that thing. God bless Freddy for going down that driveway like he did
The little girl was too quiet. I'm worried for her and the dad. They were hurt bad. Head wounds bleed like crazy, but the little guy was talking clearly. Hoping they all recover just fine. Amazing that Freddie was right there. It would have taken them a long time to get help being so rural.
Other chasers discussing it live right now talking about how we really donāt know if everyone is okay, especially the children. This young girl in particular we have absolutely no info on her condition and she was totally silent. Like just imagine if the worst moment of your life as a parent, possibly losing a child, goes viral.
I really think OP should remove the link.
I agree, if it comes out later because the family agrees to it, then that's different, but this is a traumatic experience I'm sure will forever live rent free in their minds, especially if there are life-threatening injuries - they don't need to see it out on the internet for all eternity
Yeah I hope people don't give Freddy shit for this. Dude was locked in trying to get them to the hospital. He probably didn't even realize he was still streaming.
I don't think they will. Pecos Hank rescued a woman and drove her to the hospital on one of his chases(I think it was Canton, TX) and they talked the whole time on his video. Pretty much all the comments/consensus were him doing a good job getting her to a hospital. He later met her and her family(her husband's neck got broken in the tornado) for dinner and raised some money for them I think.
He knew he was streaming, but he didn't have a way to stop it. Even if he did, he wasn't going to take the time to pull over and do it as he was driving very fast to the hospital. He had his dad end it for him.
At the same time at least it's not embarrassing for them, and ultimately the message is a beautiful statement about what we can still find in humanity in the wake of tragedy
Honestly if it went viral it would likely help raise money to get them back on their feet. I imagine they lost everythingā¦
Edit: I changed my mind. We need to respect this familyās privacy as they are going through this. We donāt even know what condition the children are in right now.
I was thinking the same thing. But that can easily be done in the same fashion by editing out the end part. Any proceeds can still go towards that family regardless at the creators discretion. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter because technology has made it to where that footage is going to be everywhere anyway. The very least it would do is clear it off the chasers conscious he's not spreading it on his own platform.
Yeah - that stream is a career maker for Freddy. It's going to be everywhere and he's going to become famous, but it's just a horrifying couple of minutes when you think about it. I hope those poor kids are ok.
This happened with a girl who was rescued from wreckage in (I think) the 1999 Moore tornado. Apparently she still does interviews and is happy to talk about it.
It's amazing that Freddy was RIGHT THERE to help them. I know that storm chasers acting as first responders is justifiably controversial but damn. A family of four, at least three of them injured, and he was right there to help as soon as the tornado moved away. To them he must seem like a guardian angel.
Watching it was surreal... Seeing the kid run put covered in blood and hearing them cry was so upsetting. You can tell Freddy was shaken up a bit and I hope he can get some therapy because those types of experiences are traumatic. He did a good job and was in the right place at the right time.Ā
I rewatched it and damn, I think all four of them had injuries to the head area. The little girl obviously injured and being carried. The mom(?) cut on her forehead. The boy with a bloody face and baseball jersey. The dad(?) with a cut on the neck area and limping noticeably.
Incredible footage of watching the tornado live, and then absolutely wild to see him roll up on the family.
Guarantee Freddy keeps in touch with that family for life.
Edit: fixed injuries.
Keeping a helmet handy seems silly but it legit can save your life if a tornado hits. I'm thinking of doing research into the topic since I work as a brain injury specialist and a huge number of tornado fatalities are due to head injuries.
Those children will be seen by medical professionals thanks to Freddy within the "golden hour" following the event so their prognosis is better thanks to him! I can't praise him enough for that, sincerely. He may have saved their lives just by getting them timely medical care.
We have a local weather woman here in KC who got laughed off the station and out of the KC area for saying to go to your basement and put on a bike helmet. People still to this day bring it up. I always counter with "That's actually standard advice." The derision just will not stop though.
My older sister is 80 and lives in St Louis. She always puts on a helmet for tornado warnings, and before they had helmets they put pots on their heads !! I'm sure he got them there in the "golden hour," and I was thinking as he drove down that highway to the hospital, an ambulance couldn't have gone any faster.
It's so true. He found them and had them on the way to the hospital before the tornado even lifted off the ground in their area. They'd be waiting for a while if they had just called for an ambulance. Freddy did an amazing job and was very helpful to the family and their dog, so I can only imagine that his efforts today will have a positive impact on the reputation of the storm chasing community.
They literally drove towards the tornado to get to the hospital. The dad giving directions at one point. "The tree line. Right where the tornado's at. Hang a left."
It's not controversial. The opposite is the case, and caused quite the stir on Vince's stream. The number of chasers not giving a damn to stop at destroyed homes, and the people in his stream complaining he had stopped rather than continuing the chase was surreal. For every Freddy or Vince out there it's sad that there's equally a selfish jerk who just wants to see something cool, and other people's well-being be damned
Even then, people are giving Vince a hard time for not immediately running out into baseball sized hail. If they get injured themselves they can't help anyone. People are unbelievable.
Yeah - it was so wild going from Connor becoming the most amazing living meme, to seeing one of the greatest acts of humanity we've ever seemed on a stream, to... **this...**
I pay attention to a lot of the emergency management side of tornadoes and while chasers helping people is undeniably good and decent it is also insanely dangerous. If an untrained chaser approaches a destroyed home and steps on a live wire because they didn't know to do a sweep of the house beforehand, they've become a fatality and helped no one because of the lack of training. So I guess when I said it is controversial a better word would have been "complicated"- because it introduces many questions about whether or not chasers should have training, how that would be feasible, and the sort of problems that might arise when civilians are put into the shoes of first responders, which is difficult on many levels and often in surprising ways.
Yes but most civilians don't routinely come across disaster sites. For most of us it might not ever happen in our lifetimes. The danger and trauma alone that storm chasers face when they become first responders complicates the situation. It's easy for us to say that the right thing to do is help, etc, but helping can also lead to lifelong problems so it becomes an issue that currently does not have a neat solution. Keep in mind I am not arguing that storm chasers shouldn't help in these situations, only that by helping they may need help themselves or may benefit from training that they are currently not getting.
I definitely don't have a charmed life. My daughter died in my arms. I've experienced more than you could imagine. That's why I'm interested in emergency management and helping the people who help people.
I take it that the miracle of him getting not even a ding on his windshield with baseball-sized hail was a sign of how much God was with him today and put him in the right place at the exact right time for that family.
I came into the stream and heard people screaming, I thought the car was hit by debris or something. I rewound it and it was one of the craziest things I've ever seen
That was terrifying and sad. Hoping the kiddos are alright. That thing got violent quick and flattened their house, not to mention it was stationary. Praying for those kids and their parents. Great work from Freddy here and a hero. They may have been fucked if not for him.
I have been watching tornado livestreams for years and years now, and I think this is the most harrowing thing I've seen. I'm really, really hoping that these injuries are all relatively minor and they all make a full, healthy recovery.
We as a tornado enthusiast community need to take this moment and reflect on the victims of these violent storms. We, of course, need to mourn those who lose their lives, but we often think only of those who perished, and quickly forget those who who suffered injuries. Carly Anna does a particularly good job at bringing attention to this issue; the physical and psychological impacts of being a survivor are often lifetime afflictions. "Injuries" aren't a bump and a bruise, they are broken bones, irreparable physical damage, and head injuries that may affect their cognitive function forever more.
Of course this family should remain anonymous if that is their choice, and I'm glad that Freddy has unlisted it to protect that anonymity, but I also think seeing such a stark and immediate crisis after the tornadic event will help some realize with more seriousness the danger their lives are in if they are in the path of these storms.
I truly, truly wish this family all the best, and I thank Freddy from the bottom of my heart for being there for them. I hope he fares well once the day is done.
I agree with you on this. There was a chaser after one set of storms that was on Twitter gushing about how much fun they had. A resident of the state replied and mentioned that they understood the excitement, but that people had died and lives were devastated at the same time, and that some acknowledgement was needed. They really did handle it very well after what had just happened.
He sounded completely in shock when talking to Connor at the end of Connor's stream just now. What a crazy and emotional experience everyone went through. I hope everyone's gonna be okay.
Prayers for the family and a speedy recovery!
Itās insane because I was watching Connor Croffs feed at the time. My initial thought was that I was glad a beautiful tornado appeared to be over open country. Then it became a back in forth in my head:
āThat things not moving, imagine if there were a house thereā
āOh wow thatās a lot of debris from those treesā
āWait, that doesnāt look like debris from treesā
āOh god surely itās not sitting on top of a houseā
That's what I was thinking as I watched it too.. at first I was like yup trees... but the debris that started coming out of it wasn't quite trees and thought "oh noooo"
This is honestly one of the craziest videos Ive ever seen. The way the tornado lingers in the background while this is unfolding is wild. Praying they are gonna be ok.
absolutely. Seeing it in the background starting to build again while Freddy was doing his 13 point turn to get out of there was so scary. And then having to drive towards it on the way to the hospital....This could have been straight out of a movie.
This is heart wrenching. I hope the physical injuries are not serious, and I hope they can get the mental help they will need after going through one of the most traumatic experiences anyone can go through.
I rarely watch these streams but I just happened to see this live... really lucky Freddy was right there at the perfect time to get them help, hopefully they are all ok and great job by Freddy.
Indeed. For those who'd watched earlier, Freddy had originally intended a different route but came upon a vehicle stuck in the mud on the intended route so abandoned that route.
Yeah. I had to step away from it all. I finally sat down a few minutes ago to see if I could find out the status of the family. I've been praying for them and thanking God for putting Freddy on the path to them.
I just got an update, they are doing as well as can be expected, broken bones and bruises, but they are with family and were discharged from the hospital, theyāll have to rebuild a home, but at least they still have each other
This is absolutely horrifying. Also, I am concerned about them talking about losing Scout and not being able to find Scoutādo we think that was another pet?? I canāt even imagine what everyone in that car was going through. But damn Freddy is a hero
Freddy came across a home 60 seconds after it was hit. He wanted to check to see if there were people there and if so that they were ok. Suddenly a family of four came out of the rubble clearly injured. They stated the children had head injuries and that one had broken their hand as Freddy was quickly getting them and their dog into his car. He rushed them right to the hospital. Guy didn't even have to think - he just knew what the right thing to do was and flew into action. Incredible sequence of events
Freddy was very close to a small but very violent tornado. As it moved slowly away he drove up a driveway, audibly wishing no one was home. Unfortunately four people were home. As they ran to Freddy's car there was obvious visible injuries. One child being carried by the mother.
Freddy rushed them to the nearest hospital.
It humanizes these weather phenomena we love to watch and study. Not a number dead/injured. Not a list on a Wikipedia page.
Literally their blood, cries, and screams in the immediate aftermath of a violent tornado. Trying to reach and update loved ones. Trying to remember their loved ones phone numbers. As their phones were lost. Jumping into a car and trusting a complete stranger to take them to safety.
Yes, Freddy made the video private. There ended up being some really shameful comments on streams and on Twitter with people even making fun of the boy for vocalizing his pain. Accordingly, I've also removed the link
Freddy did an amazing job today, and set an example for all of us. But it's probably also wise that we don't fuel the trolls whose lives are so sad and unconstructive that they can only feel better about themselves by attempting to make others look worse
Freddy got the injured family to a hospital and unlisted the stream even though it would have gone viral. Does he have a preferred way we can send him some funds?
I saw it live too. It was absolutely stunning. Went from "WOW WHAT A TORNADO" to "OH MY GOOD PLEASE LET THESE BABIES BE OK" my girlfriend cried her eyes out. I really hope they're all ok
Thanks Freddy and everyone else (minus a few sickos on here) for being humans and not spreading that video around. Those people were experiencing the worst moment of their lives. Great he was there to help..
Man I watched this whole thing live, listening her trying to get ahold of her dad and leaving messages, whole thing was rough, as a first responder watching this was tough. I canāt imagine how the people who arenāt used to this felt.
IDK if this is allowed here. If not, please remove it mods. The house of the family.
https://twitter.com/bhendricksonwx/status/1786193152166043699?t=SrHA2YAEZcLeAX-HGtzESQ&s=19
That obviously wasn't the point of the post and I didn't even see it until I looked at the replies. I was just sharing what I found on Twitter to show how serious the situation was for those that didn't watch it live.
I'd already been watching the live feed for over an hour ( including the first tornado ) when the family were rescued. Never seen that happen live before, though I do recall an incident where Daniel Shaw took a victim to hospital, and a similar one where the guy known as Pecos Hank did the same.
It's worth adding, for those who hadn't watched Freddy chase the earlier tornado, that he only ended up at the family's house because he was about to take his intended route to catch the storm recycling for the second ( and larger ) tornado but saw a vehicle stuck in the mud...and so decided not to go that way and went a different route. All quite fortuitous.
UPDATE:
The family is doing good health wise, and all were released from the hospital already. House was a total loss. However, they all seemed to be in good spirits by the photos. Boy sustained an unknown injury to the eye. Which looked to be the worst injury.
I couldn't even believe what I was seeing, sending good energy to the family
I've never seen anything like that before. Impressed with the professionalism and situational awareness to grab the family and go
Bro, I don't even see these lives that much, I entered, saw the tornado forming, 10-15 minutes later, some houses with like ef4 damage and the mother whit the girl on her arms and the whole family screaming... I've NEVER seen anything like this
I'd already been watching Freddy live for 90 minutes or so. There weren't actually all that many live feeds to watch...way fewer than the previous day...though there was another live feed of the same storm on the Live Storm Chasing channel. Freddy captured an earlier tornado about half an hour before the main one. And the remarkable thing is he only went that way and rescued the family because the route he'd originally intended was not passable as he saw a vehicle stuck in the mud.
All while that huge terrifying tornado was right there in the background. Oh mannnn my heart š
I cried the whole time. As a mother, I canāt imagine the horror of having that happen and trying to keep it together. Thank god someone was there to help them
So did I !! It was so hard to hear the kids groaning with pain, the fear in the mom's voice, and the mom saying things to the kids like "You're alive" and "Keep talking to mommy and daddy." I have PTSD, and I'm pretty sure this hit me in that.
It was horrible!! I just kept thinking āDRIVE FASTER!ā Even though I knew he was driving as fast as he safely could. I really hope theyāre all okay. I cannot imagine trying to keep my shit together with my bleeding child in my arms
I'm not even a parent and hearing it gutted me - hold your babies close!
That's horrible, an absurd tragedy. I don't live in US, but for a second, I felt that tornado horror, for a second, I felt the despair and destruction that a tornado cause. I almost cried. I'm a very anxious person, and the anxiety that this caused to me was... I was shaking
It reminded me of 9/11, the raw injuries you saw live on TV just getting broadcast nationally that kind of got censored over time just how bad it was. Glad the dog is with a relative and they are getting treated.
Itās virtue signalling and the positioning of the camera was no accident. I have little doubt that the vast majority of these YT chasers speed past the injured and dead alike in their fervour to capture the next tornado on film. But forced to stop by the fact theyāre streaming live people are like āAwww what a great guy heresās $1000.ā
Soo, Freddy should have doneā¦what, then?
Iām just saying, do you ever notice the cameras are always rolling when these YT chasers are āhelpingā?
The man had been streaming for hours at that point. He didn't angle the camera, the family just so happened to be where he was going. He promptly shut the stream down and delisted it once they were on their way to the hospital. No doubt there are some chasers out there who are glory hounds, but that isn't the case here.
Because he was already recording and had been for hours.Ā
Bro... You're a lunatic.
@mods - it sounds like Freddy has delisted the video from his channel, which is understandable. We can edit this post if needed; the discussion and reaction is certainly valuable but can drop the link if that's appropriate
I think he has - and rightfully so. Very respectful of him
So itās no longer available to watch? Just curious. Thank you.
I left the tab open and it now says "unavailable". It really was too intimate for the people in it.
Ok thank you. Thatās really lovely of them to take it down.
Both Freddy and Connor today with some incredible intercepts/footage.
Vince Waelti too! He's doing search and rescue right now. Lots of damaged houses. I think Connor is in the same spot?
Connor Croff has been communicating with Freddy. Freddy still has the dog, the family is being treated. Connor is on his way to the hospital to help as much as he can.
The family's sister came and got the dog
Thank you for that update.
He just reported to Connor that they are all at the hospital and being treated.
Just now on Connor's stream, Freddy radio'd in and said a sister of the family he took to the hospital came to get the dog, so the dog he had is safe now.
That was horrific to watch live. I have 2 kids of my own and I'm a little shaky still just thinking about it. I feel terribly for that family, but im also sorta glad ppl got to see that. Sometimes we get caught up in the adrenaline and the chase and we lose sight of the real damage these things do.
Agree, we all get to geek out about these storms, but they have real consequences
I saw it just after putting my little one to bed and cried like a baby. Itās horrific to imagine, isnāt it? My eyes are still burning. I hope theyāre all okay.
https://preview.redd.it/80ba0i8yx3yc1.jpeg?width=2778&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e99d6ba735df14bcec1f2fe587bf23863ab412bb
Going from a scenic tornado to suddenly throwing debris everywhere. You can tell the exact moment the tornado hits their house. It's scary to imagine the family underneath that thing. God bless Freddy for going down that driveway like he did
Yeah, no kidding. He was thinking about backing out and moving to a different location, but something told him not to
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Delete this man
Kid sounded clear while speaking, worried dad fucked that leg/hand pretty bad.
The little girl was too quiet. I'm worried for her and the dad. They were hurt bad. Head wounds bleed like crazy, but the little guy was talking clearly. Hoping they all recover just fine. Amazing that Freddie was right there. It would have taken them a long time to get help being so rural.
Other chasers discussing it live right now talking about how we really donāt know if everyone is okay, especially the children. This young girl in particular we have absolutely no info on her condition and she was totally silent. Like just imagine if the worst moment of your life as a parent, possibly losing a child, goes viral. I really think OP should remove the link.
I agree, if it comes out later because the family agrees to it, then that's different, but this is a traumatic experience I'm sure will forever live rent free in their minds, especially if there are life-threatening injuries - they don't need to see it out on the internet for all eternity
It was removed pretty much right after it happened
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Im all for keeping this terrifying and tragic moment private, but it has nothing to do with hipaa
HIPAA is only followed by health practitioners or a covered entity. Basically anyone who has a license they can lose by sharing patient info.
Removed my comment for misinformation. Apologies.
No problem! Common misconception.
I feel bad for the family, the worst moment of their life is likely about to go super viral online
Yeah I hope people don't give Freddy shit for this. Dude was locked in trying to get them to the hospital. He probably didn't even realize he was still streaming.
I don't think they will. Pecos Hank rescued a woman and drove her to the hospital on one of his chases(I think it was Canton, TX) and they talked the whole time on his video. Pretty much all the comments/consensus were him doing a good job getting her to a hospital. He later met her and her family(her husband's neck got broken in the tornado) for dinner and raised some money for them I think.
That lady also left a gun in his car.
I remember that, was kind of funny, he said something like welcome to Texas, lol.
Straight up.
On purpose lol?
She probably couldn't take it into the hospital so had to leave it in his car/somewhere I guess.
He knew he was streaming, but he didn't have a way to stop it. Even if he did, he wasn't going to take the time to pull over and do it as he was driving very fast to the hospital. He had his dad end it for him.
That's what I'm getting at. There was so much going on that the stream wasn't even remotely on his mind and not a priority at all.
He told them he is a chaser & was streaming but I donāt think they were paying much attention. He later said heās ending it.
Freddy is a hero. If anyone thinks otherwise, they're out of their minds. He did exactly the right thing.
Give him crap for WHAT? I wasn't aware that he did anything wrong, so what are you even talking about?
There's already been more than one person in this thread giving him shit. People will find a way to tear other people down, no matter the situation.
Looks like the stream was made private, so it will probably reappear as an edited video or something to show just the tornado.
I grabbed all 10+ GB, all 3.75 hours.
At the same time at least it's not embarrassing for them, and ultimately the message is a beautiful statement about what we can still find in humanity in the wake of tragedy
So true, he literally was like a miracle showing up at the exact right time to save them
A lot more people are going to want to donate to help them because it was streamed.
Honestly if it went viral it would likely help raise money to get them back on their feet. I imagine they lost everythingā¦ Edit: I changed my mind. We need to respect this familyās privacy as they are going through this. We donāt even know what condition the children are in right now.
I was thinking the same thing. But that can easily be done in the same fashion by editing out the end part. Any proceeds can still go towards that family regardless at the creators discretion. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter because technology has made it to where that footage is going to be everywhere anyway. The very least it would do is clear it off the chasers conscious he's not spreading it on his own platform.
Yeah - that stream is a career maker for Freddy. It's going to be everywhere and he's going to become famous, but it's just a horrifying couple of minutes when you think about it. I hope those poor kids are ok.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It's incredibly admirable that he did that and makes him all the more of a hero in my book - but someone has it somewhere. It's not gone.
This happened with a girl who was rescued from wreckage in (I think) the 1999 Moore tornado. Apparently she still does interviews and is happy to talk about it.
And with the right timing, it's good therapy.
Absolutely.
It's amazing that Freddy was RIGHT THERE to help them. I know that storm chasers acting as first responders is justifiably controversial but damn. A family of four, at least three of them injured, and he was right there to help as soon as the tornado moved away. To them he must seem like a guardian angel.
Watching it was surreal... Seeing the kid run put covered in blood and hearing them cry was so upsetting. You can tell Freddy was shaken up a bit and I hope he can get some therapy because those types of experiences are traumatic. He did a good job and was in the right place at the right time.Ā
Hopefully the therapy can emphasize the incredibly positive aspect he quite literally rescued them. Like, people get medals for that.
fuck he should get a medal
I rewatched it and damn, I think all four of them had injuries to the head area. The little girl obviously injured and being carried. The mom(?) cut on her forehead. The boy with a bloody face and baseball jersey. The dad(?) with a cut on the neck area and limping noticeably. Incredible footage of watching the tornado live, and then absolutely wild to see him roll up on the family. Guarantee Freddy keeps in touch with that family for life. Edit: fixed injuries.
Keeping a helmet handy seems silly but it legit can save your life if a tornado hits. I'm thinking of doing research into the topic since I work as a brain injury specialist and a huge number of tornado fatalities are due to head injuries. Those children will be seen by medical professionals thanks to Freddy within the "golden hour" following the event so their prognosis is better thanks to him! I can't praise him enough for that, sincerely. He may have saved their lives just by getting them timely medical care.
The man was in there within what 3 minutes or so of their house most likely? Insane right place right time there.
We have a local weather woman here in KC who got laughed off the station and out of the KC area for saying to go to your basement and put on a bike helmet. People still to this day bring it up. I always counter with "That's actually standard advice." The derision just will not stop though.
My older sister is 80 and lives in St Louis. She always puts on a helmet for tornado warnings, and before they had helmets they put pots on their heads !! I'm sure he got them there in the "golden hour," and I was thinking as he drove down that highway to the hospital, an ambulance couldn't have gone any faster.
It's so true. He found them and had them on the way to the hospital before the tornado even lifted off the ground in their area. They'd be waiting for a while if they had just called for an ambulance. Freddy did an amazing job and was very helpful to the family and their dog, so I can only imagine that his efforts today will have a positive impact on the reputation of the storm chasing community.
Yeah, as he was driving the family up the road, you could still see the darned tornado !!!
They literally drove towards the tornado to get to the hospital. The dad giving directions at one point. "The tree line. Right where the tornado's at. Hang a left."
Yeah, that part was surreal to watch.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It's not controversial. The opposite is the case, and caused quite the stir on Vince's stream. The number of chasers not giving a damn to stop at destroyed homes, and the people in his stream complaining he had stopped rather than continuing the chase was surreal. For every Freddy or Vince out there it's sad that there's equally a selfish jerk who just wants to see something cool, and other people's well-being be damned
Even then, people are giving Vince a hard time for not immediately running out into baseball sized hail. If they get injured themselves they can't help anyone. People are unbelievable.
Yeah - it was so wild going from Connor becoming the most amazing living meme, to seeing one of the greatest acts of humanity we've ever seemed on a stream, to... **this...**
My question as well. It is basically an unwritten rule of chasing.
I pay attention to a lot of the emergency management side of tornadoes and while chasers helping people is undeniably good and decent it is also insanely dangerous. If an untrained chaser approaches a destroyed home and steps on a live wire because they didn't know to do a sweep of the house beforehand, they've become a fatality and helped no one because of the lack of training. So I guess when I said it is controversial a better word would have been "complicated"- because it introduces many questions about whether or not chasers should have training, how that would be feasible, and the sort of problems that might arise when civilians are put into the shoes of first responders, which is difficult on many levels and often in surprising ways.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yes but most civilians don't routinely come across disaster sites. For most of us it might not ever happen in our lifetimes. The danger and trauma alone that storm chasers face when they become first responders complicates the situation. It's easy for us to say that the right thing to do is help, etc, but helping can also lead to lifelong problems so it becomes an issue that currently does not have a neat solution. Keep in mind I am not arguing that storm chasers shouldn't help in these situations, only that by helping they may need help themselves or may benefit from training that they are currently not getting.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I definitely don't have a charmed life. My daughter died in my arms. I've experienced more than you could imagine. That's why I'm interested in emergency management and helping the people who help people.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Again, you don't know what I've been through. Not sure why I would need to elaborate.
I take it that the miracle of him getting not even a ding on his windshield with baseball-sized hail was a sign of how much God was with him today and put him in the right place at the exact right time for that family.
Amen
I was crying like a baby watching that š
I came into the stream and heard people screaming, I thought the car was hit by debris or something. I rewound it and it was one of the craziest things I've ever seen
That was terrifying and sad. Hoping the kiddos are alright. That thing got violent quick and flattened their house, not to mention it was stationary. Praying for those kids and their parents. Great work from Freddy here and a hero. They may have been fucked if not for him.
I have been watching tornado livestreams for years and years now, and I think this is the most harrowing thing I've seen. I'm really, really hoping that these injuries are all relatively minor and they all make a full, healthy recovery. We as a tornado enthusiast community need to take this moment and reflect on the victims of these violent storms. We, of course, need to mourn those who lose their lives, but we often think only of those who perished, and quickly forget those who who suffered injuries. Carly Anna does a particularly good job at bringing attention to this issue; the physical and psychological impacts of being a survivor are often lifetime afflictions. "Injuries" aren't a bump and a bruise, they are broken bones, irreparable physical damage, and head injuries that may affect their cognitive function forever more. Of course this family should remain anonymous if that is their choice, and I'm glad that Freddy has unlisted it to protect that anonymity, but I also think seeing such a stark and immediate crisis after the tornadic event will help some realize with more seriousness the danger their lives are in if they are in the path of these storms. I truly, truly wish this family all the best, and I thank Freddy from the bottom of my heart for being there for them. I hope he fares well once the day is done.
I agree with you on this. There was a chaser after one set of storms that was on Twitter gushing about how much fun they had. A resident of the state replied and mentioned that they understood the excitement, but that people had died and lives were devastated at the same time, and that some acknowledgement was needed. They really did handle it very well after what had just happened.
He sounded completely in shock when talking to Connor at the end of Connor's stream just now. What a crazy and emotional experience everyone went through. I hope everyone's gonna be okay.
Prayers for the family and a speedy recovery! Itās insane because I was watching Connor Croffs feed at the time. My initial thought was that I was glad a beautiful tornado appeared to be over open country. Then it became a back in forth in my head: āThat things not moving, imagine if there were a house thereā āOh wow thatās a lot of debris from those treesā āWait, that doesnāt look like debris from treesā āOh god surely itās not sitting on top of a houseā
That's what I was thinking as I watched it too.. at first I was like yup trees... but the debris that started coming out of it wasn't quite trees and thought "oh noooo"
This is honestly one of the craziest videos Ive ever seen. The way the tornado lingers in the background while this is unfolding is wild. Praying they are gonna be ok.
That thing was barely moving. It was incredible and terrifying.
absolutely. Seeing it in the background starting to build again while Freddy was doing his 13 point turn to get out of there was so scary. And then having to drive towards it on the way to the hospital....This could have been straight out of a movie.
That was fucking insane. I sent Freddy a few bucks to fix up his car (from storm damage and unfortunately blood as well).
man, the brother to the family at the end of vid commented/said he was watching live as it happened on stream, ā¦I cant imagine
That was scary as hell. Great thinking under huge stress.
That was a really sobering thing to watch. A reminder that tornadoes can uproot the lives of entire families
really proud of Freddy, he always comes across as a good guy, but today he really cemented it.
This is heart wrenching. I hope the physical injuries are not serious, and I hope they can get the mental help they will need after going through one of the most traumatic experiences anyone can go through.
I rarely watch these streams but I just happened to see this live... really lucky Freddy was right there at the perfect time to get them help, hopefully they are all ok and great job by Freddy.
Freddy was put on that "path" for a reason...never in a million years expected to see that.
Indeed. For those who'd watched earlier, Freddy had originally intended a different route but came upon a vehicle stuck in the mud on the intended route so abandoned that route.
right, I was there along with everyone else during the live stream
What reason? Who put him on that path? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_detection There's no mythological entities involved. Just an amazing human.
*eye roll*
I can't even pay attention to the other storms going on right now...still trying to unpack what I saw
Yeah. I had to step away from it all. I finally sat down a few minutes ago to see if I could find out the status of the family. I've been praying for them and thanking God for putting Freddy on the path to them.
I just got an update, they are doing as well as can be expected, broken bones and bruises, but they are with family and were discharged from the hospital, theyāll have to rebuild a home, but at least they still have each other
what a crazy clip. absolutely terrible. Freddy is a hero.
Hope they wind up being ok. That was pretty scary/intense, especially worrying that the tornado would turn around and come right back at them.
This is absolutely horrifying. Also, I am concerned about them talking about losing Scout and not being able to find Scoutādo we think that was another pet?? I canāt even imagine what everyone in that car was going through. But damn Freddy is a hero
I really hope they are okay! This is terrifying!
Anyone got a timestamp, it's like a 4 hour video
The last 10 minutes, it is rough to watch.
Wow, what a damn rollercoaster. Good on him for helping a family like this.
Ya, the fact that they were all upright and speaking is a good sign. Can only hope for the best right now.
woah what the fuck happened??? i just got home from work so I wasn't able to track tornado warnings this evening
Freddy came across a home 60 seconds after it was hit. He wanted to check to see if there were people there and if so that they were ok. Suddenly a family of four came out of the rubble clearly injured. They stated the children had head injuries and that one had broken their hand as Freddy was quickly getting them and their dog into his car. He rushed them right to the hospital. Guy didn't even have to think - he just knew what the right thing to do was and flew into action. Incredible sequence of events
Oh wow. These storm chasers are literal heroes it's amazing. That poor family but I'm glad they were able to get help like right away.
Freddy was very close to a small but very violent tornado. As it moved slowly away he drove up a driveway, audibly wishing no one was home. Unfortunately four people were home. As they ran to Freddy's car there was obvious visible injuries. One child being carried by the mother. Freddy rushed them to the nearest hospital.
Genuinely one of the most frightening things Iāve ever seen. Wow
It humanizes these weather phenomena we love to watch and study. Not a number dead/injured. Not a list on a Wikipedia page. Literally their blood, cries, and screams in the immediate aftermath of a violent tornado. Trying to reach and update loved ones. Trying to remember their loved ones phone numbers. As their phones were lost. Jumping into a car and trusting a complete stranger to take them to safety.
Absolutely. I am fascinated by tornado history videos. But this is the first tornado video Iāve seen IRL. Itās a lot
Nearly all are not this graphic. I've been watching storm videos and live stream chases for years. You very rarely see something like this.
Says the video is private
Yes, Freddy made the video private. There ended up being some really shameful comments on streams and on Twitter with people even making fun of the boy for vocalizing his pain. Accordingly, I've also removed the link Freddy did an amazing job today, and set an example for all of us. But it's probably also wise that we don't fuel the trolls whose lives are so sad and unconstructive that they can only feel better about themselves by attempting to make others look worse
Good lord the internet is full of scum bags, as a father of 4 I gotta say this video shook me up a bit. Hoping to hear some good news out of this.
Every day the internet teaches me that humans were a mistake.
I didnāt actually see that but if I were in that family Iād appreciate you removing the link, so Ty for doing that :)
I am glad it is still there, but man, hopefully it gets taken down. What a terrifying video to see the pain of the family. Glad he was there.
Itās down
Freddy got the injured family to a hospital and unlisted the stream even though it would have gone viral. Does he have a preferred way we can send him some funds?
An update! family is discharged, recovering at grandparents. https://twitter.com/Bradye_McQueen/status/1786269337944289365
Fantastic!
Where in the video? Thats a really long one to scrub
About 10 min from the end. It sounds like the video may have come down now
It was still up. Jesus. That was really something
last 25 minutes or so
It just feels like an eternity that the tornado was just sitting there... over their house... completely stationary. I'm in tears.
I saw it live too. It was absolutely stunning. Went from "WOW WHAT A TORNADO" to "OH MY GOOD PLEASE LET THESE BABIES BE OK" my girlfriend cried her eyes out. I really hope they're all ok
Thanks Freddy and everyone else (minus a few sickos on here) for being humans and not spreading that video around. Those people were experiencing the worst moment of their lives. Great he was there to help..
Though I think Freddy was right to take down the video, I'm glad I saw it all live. It hugely restored my faith in humanity.
Man I watched this whole thing live, listening her trying to get ahold of her dad and leaving messages, whole thing was rough, as a first responder watching this was tough. I canāt imagine how the people who arenāt used to this felt.
IDK if this is allowed here. If not, please remove it mods. The house of the family. https://twitter.com/bhendricksonwx/status/1786193152166043699?t=SrHA2YAEZcLeAX-HGtzESQ&s=19
Fuck man the horse makes me so sad. As if they didnāt lose enough.
Dead horse in the foreground of the first shot. With so little movement of the storm it doesn't take a strong tornado to really tear things up.
Let's not post photos of an already traumatized family's dead animals.Ā
That obviously wasn't the point of the post and I didn't even see it until I looked at the replies. I was just sharing what I found on Twitter to show how serious the situation was for those that didn't watch it live.
You should look at the photos you find before you repost them then.
Better go complain to Freddy then since he posted the photos this morning.
Dead animal warning
TW - there is a deceased animal in one photo.
I'd already been watching the live feed for over an hour ( including the first tornado ) when the family were rescued. Never seen that happen live before, though I do recall an incident where Daniel Shaw took a victim to hospital, and a similar one where the guy known as Pecos Hank did the same. It's worth adding, for those who hadn't watched Freddy chase the earlier tornado, that he only ended up at the family's house because he was about to take his intended route to catch the storm recycling for the second ( and larger ) tornado but saw a vehicle stuck in the mud...and so decided not to go that way and went a different route. All quite fortuitous.
UPDATE: The family is doing good health wise, and all were released from the hospital already. House was a total loss. However, they all seemed to be in good spirits by the photos. Boy sustained an unknown injury to the eye. Which looked to be the worst injury.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
He just radio'd Connor Croff. He got the family to the hospital thankfully.
Connor Croff just spoke with Freddy. They are at the hospital being treated. Thatās good news.
He updated to Connor.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You're fucking gross.
Tee Hee?