‘In Jesus name, please protect me’: Motorist describes moment tornado tore across I-65
MAURY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — As a powerful, EF-3 tornado cut a path through Maury County Wednesday evening, it tore across Interstate 65 in the middle of rush hour, tossing cars like they were nothing.
Terrified motorists slowed to a stop as the storm whipped up debris and reduced visibility.
One man was just feet away from a van as it went flying through the air. He sat on the interstate praying to God as strong winds swirled around his car. His wife was just two miles behind him.
Peden was on the phone with his wife as it was all unfolding. During the video, they can be heard praying, with Peden repeatedly shouting, “God please protect me.”
Jessi Peden sat down with News 2 and described the heart-pounding moment he realized he was caught in the middle of the storm.
Dash cam captures moment driver gets caught in tornado along I-65
“The pounding of the car, just like the wind, not even the stuff hitting, just the wind hitting the car, you can just feel it….I’ll be honest. I thought I was not going to make it. I thought I was going to die,” explained Peden.
As the violent winds made impact, Peden’s dash camera captured two minutes and 30 seconds of the terrifying moments. But for Peden, it felt much longer.
“I feel like I was in it for 20 minutes. The camera don’t really catch what I’m seeing, so when I first seen the leaves, right after that you see the interstate sign just fly right by. So I’m seeing all these things flying, signs and stuff towards my car, and I’m just like man.”
There are moments in the video where you can hear Peden talking to his wife who was just a few miles behind him in another car.
“She stopped and she was honking her horn, and trying to get people to stop so they wouldn’t drive into it. She didn’t know what to do at first and I was like don’t come this way,” explained Peden.
Tornado lifts van off I-65 in Maury County
As a white van was tossed by the wind just inches from Peden’s car, it crashed and flipped off the side of the interstate.
“When I watched the car slam right behind my car, I was worried about the guy and I was like man, if I would have knew that he got hit, when he slammed back there, I would have got out and helped him,” said Peden.
Now, Peden is just thankful to be alive.
“I knew if anybody could get me through this, it was God, so I’m just grateful for God that I get to see my wife again, my kids, it’s a really scary thing.”
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