Powerful storm sends South Carolina man flying onto restaurant roof

Dillon Thompson
Updated ·2 min read

Two South Carolina restaurant workers were lifted into the air by a powerful storm Monday, causing one of them to be thrown into a building's roof.

The employees, who worked at the Esso Club in Clemson, S.C., were attempting to put up a tent outside the restaurant when the wind began to pick up, according to WYFF-TV.

A strong gust eventually lifted the tent into the air, along with the two workers.

"The bigger tent that we installed that morning ... just kind of took off," Candice Bell, the restaurant's general manager, told WYFF.

Samuel Foster, one of the employees who was thrown into the air, said that before he could even process what was happening, he was flying above the building.

"It took a second for it to register but then I'm like 20 feet in the air, and all I could think was, I've got to land on this roof," Foster told WYFF.

Video of the incident shows Foster soaring over the restaurant and then slamming into its gutters before rolling off the roof and falling to the ground.

The other worker, who remains unidentified, was also tossed several feet into the air. Witness said she slammed her head on a table when she landed, but she is reportedly recovering and in good condition.

Foster emerged from the storm with injuries to his head and his left eye, where he had to get stitches. Despite the distance of his fall, he was reportedly able to walk away from the incident and was ready to return to work by Friday.

"I'm really thankful for God for looking out for me there," Foster told WYFF. "[The restaurant has] been really supportive. My friends, my fraternity, I'm really thankful for all of that."