Johnson County Deputy Hurt After Bridge Collapse
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JOHNSON COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - A Johnson County Sheriff's deputy was the only victim reported injured after eight tornadoes struck North Texas, bringing down trees, fences, and several structures.
Deputy Jose Ensley was on patrol when the road near a swollen creek collapsed.
Ensely crawled out the side of his submerged vehicle and pulled himself out of the water, according to the department.
Most of the damage occurred in Rio Vista, where half of Sunday's eight tornadoes touched ground.
Volunteers with the North Texas Off Road Recovery spent Monday helping clear away fallen trees.
"Been cutting trees down and clearing people's houses out. Been out here since about 10 o'clock this morning," said Mike Dobbs.
Therisa Seargant said she saw the storm approaching.
"Right between these trees… we, in a flash of lightning, saw a funnel cloud. The tornado was forming and coming down to earth, so we ran into the office."
Five people and four dogs took shelter from the storm in the Saergent family's small office.
When they emerged they found a flooded creek had taken over their backyard.
The rushing water had carried their daughter's car several hundred feet.
The wind had slammed a flatbed trailer against the side of the house.
"It was really scary. 'Cause you don't know what's gonna happen," said Saergent.
But like many in the small Johnson County city, the Seargant's feel lucky to have survived the storms safely.
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