Crook survives Jackson storm
Union Univ. student was in dorm room when tornado hit
By TOM BERRY
Staff Writer
Chelsea Crook huddled inside her dormitory with a lot of other frightened students as a deadly tornado ripped through Union University in Jackson, Tenn., Tuesday night, destroying everything in its path.
At first, giving little heed to a warning that a serious storm was headed in her direction, Crook, the daughter of Mike and Suzy Crook of Murray, said she found herself running for her life just moments before the storm hit.
“When they first started saying it, I thought it was just a thunderstorm. It's a drill. It's no big deal. So, I went downstairs to my room. I was just taking my time.”
But roaring winds, screaming alarms, frightened looks and desperate actions among her friends changed all that.
She and her friends headed for what they thought was the only safe place in the building as their eyes grew wider and their hearts pounded harder. Ignoring her purse, clothes, books and other belongings, she grabbed a flashlight and her Chapstick and ran for cover.
“I was actually in the bathroom with 11 other girls. I was on top of them trying to cover them up,” she said. “We just got the door shut and everybody piled on top of each other.”
About four or five of the girls were in the bathtub while others were huddled on the floor and around the toilet as the winds grew louder and louder. Crook said the last girl to come running into the bathroom tried to bring a pillow, but it got caught in the doorway as they tried to slam the door.
“The wind came in and sucked half of the pillow away, and then the glass came in and I had it on my arm and on my face,” she said. “It was so fast. We had just shut the door. It happened in maybe five seconds and it was gone.”
Crook, a sophomore athletic training major at the university with plans to become a physical therapist at a children's hospital, said surviving one of the deadliest tornados to sweep through the nation in the past 25 years was an experience she will never forget.
For complete story, see today's Ledger & Times
Story created Feb 08, 2008 - 11:58:37 EST.
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